Overture
by Lastrael Noir
Summary: Red X has been stalking a certain member of the titans since his mysterious disappearance,now she has found out.They both try to fight their emotions,but neither can deny the attraction to each other. RaexRobxRedx
1. Trigger

Hey everybody I've always wanted to write a Rae/RedX fic but I needed a good setup for it to take place in. Well It suddenly came to me last night so I had to write like there was no tomorrow! So here it is, my first Rae/RedX fan fiction!I hope that you all like it!

By the way, I will be finishing my Rob/Rae fic Feeble Fortitude, I just had to post this!

ENJOY… 

Chapter One: Trigger

"Titans, GO!" Robin exclaimed, quickly dodging a carefully released X-shaped blade. It seems Red-X had survived his seemingly suicidal jump from Dr. Chang's laboratory down to the swirling currents of the ocean. In recent weeks he had resurfaced and had been entertaining himself by robbing high dollar antiques from civilian's homes. The titans, like usual had been their every job he thought he had in the bag. Unfortunately for the titans, he did have it in the bag, because every time he had eluded the hands of justice with his newly acquired synothium belt, courtesy of a blackmailed Dr. Chang. Though it did take an advanced level of burglary, it had brought him even greater joy to see the titans so frustrated and eager to catch him.

He was in the midst of his usual rounds when the titan's, leaving the local Pizza Parlor, had stumbled onto him.

"Ha, is that the best you can do?" Red X's computer modified voice responded after evading a volley of Starbolts from Starfire. "Come on, I thought you were the Teen Titans?" He insulted as he blocked a fury of punches and kicks from Robin. Unsurprising to X, Robin seemed the most angry. X had broken a sweat just to subdue his martial art attacks, but in the end he won and sent an unconscious Robin hurtling into an empty dumpster.

The other Titans went into attack mode after they saw their leader go down.

"You shall not harm anyone ever again!" Starfire screamed as her hand glowed green. She rose her arms and sent a thick beam right at the thief. Red-X, in turn, clasped his hands together, secreting a red gelatinous goo from his wrists onto his hands. He stretched the goo by pulling his hands apart and caught Starfire's Starbolt. He was sent backwards a few feet, but soon recovered and molded the consumed Starbolt in a ball of Red jelly with a glowing green core. He jumped above the mid-air alien and threw it down on her. She screamed, but was soon silenced by a ferocious slap from the pavement, dust consumed the motionless sight.

Beastboy, meanwhile was on the ground, fighting a mob of frightened onlookers. He soon got fed up with fighting elbows and took flight as an eagle and rested on a nearby, mediocre-sized building. He leapt into action as soon as Starfire went down. He changed in a kangaroo and leapt off the building, gaining speed towards X. As easily as he had changed into a Kangaroo, he morphed into an armadillo, intending to ball up an smack him in the face. X, being the intuitive thief that he was, was fully aware of the attack. He spun around and held up his palm, shooting a tape-like adhesive shaped X from it. It directly hit Beastboy, making him do a complete 180. He changed back to his human self quickly only to be stopped by the window of the building he had stood on. The glass behind his back had cracked but not enough to break completely, leaving Beastboy unable to escape and his feet dangling dangerously high above the ground.

"Yo!" Called a voice from behind X. A beam shot from Cyborg's sonic cannon, nearly knocking X off his feet. He pressed a button on his synothium powered belt and he disappeared. He reappeared only a few moments later, fully equipped with another X blade, which he drove straight through Cyborg's back, causing his system to immediately short-circuit.

X barely had time to bask in his glory as a metal rod batted him in his back, making him fall to his knees. His hands caught him as he landed gracefully. He glanced back and saw the remaining member of the titans standing behind him.

"Well, you're the first one to actually hit me." Red X congratulated as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah, well it won't be my last!" Raven said calmly as she began to melt towards the ground. X looked around in shock, though he knew the dark titan's powers well, he had been completely caught off guard by her immediate recession. She reappeared behind the skull-masked villain and began to breath placidly, muttering her mantra in her head.

Red X, being a highly perceptive burglar, heard her gentle breath and spun around quickly seeing her eyes glowing white and ready for an attack. As a rope made out of her dark energy was about to bind him he clicked his belt immediately and teleported out of harm's way and directly behind Raven. He copied her plan of attack and quickly shot the same adhesive that he threw at Beastboy from his hands and aimed at her feet. She immediately collapsed, moaning as her head hit the dark pavement. Red X knew that she was stunned for the moment and took the opportunity to stride over to her cloak covered figure and bind her arms together. He watched as his prey shook her head and looked down at her hands. He grasped her chin with his thumb and forced her to look up at him.

"You've got spunk. I like it. But don't get any ideas about taking me away from this, okay beautiful?" He said, holding up his bag of stolen loot. He then took this moment to push her cloak off her legs. He gazed at them with masked eyes of lust. Raven followed his gaze and attempted to roll away from him. He merely laughed and rose from his kneeling position. "So much anger, how will I ever get through to you?" With one last gaze at her, Red X pushed one final button on his belt, and disappeared from the battle scene.

"Whatever triggered it came from outside the tower." Cyborg said. Though the metal-man had enough technology to solve the murder of Jimmy Hoffa, he seemed purely baffled.

"So who triggered the mask?" Beastboy asked, nursing his mucus encased nose with a tissue. Everyone merely glanced at one another as if the answers were written on their faces.

"I checked the diagnosis on the mask but, I can't find anything." Cyborg finally answered after pressing a few dials on the computer near the infirmary beds. He gave into it's unwillingness to cooperate after it responded with a negative toned beep.

"Looks like it's a closed case, for now." Raven said as the team, minus Robin, all headed to their rooms for some well deserved shut-eye.

Bright and early the next morning the kitchen was filled with the resonating sound of the clattering dishware. Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beastboy, not wanting to wake their leader, had set down and ate a hearty breakfast feast, consisting of everything from sausage links to giant tofu patties.

"So what's the plan for today?" Beastboy asked, running a toothpick along the edges of his teeth. Cyborg was the first to answer.

"Well, I was hopin' we could find out some more information from that mask before Robin wakes up." He said, putting away the last of the sparkling dishes.

"Dude, we already checked everything last night." Beastboy's laziness replied.

"Not everything," Cyborg corrected, "when we all left last night I couldn't put myself to sleep, "he explained, the titan's knowing that during sleep was Cyborg's way to recharge, "I was thinking about all the tests I could run on that mask. And well, I thought of one, but…" He trailed off.

"But what?" Raven pried, eager to hear the rest of the story.

"A drug test. But I don't know if it'll work. The dust on the mask was a dormant hallucinogen. And when Robin inhaled it someone triggered it from the outside, making it active. But now that the dust fulfilled its purpose, it's most likely dormant again. And I don't know if the test can find a signal." Cyborg finished, awaiting the others the speak up.

"but we must try!" Starfire said loudly, attempting to fill the teams spirits with hope.

"Yeah, we can still try Star, but I doubt it will work." Cyborg responded as he and the team headed back up to the infirmary. When they finally arrived at the doors Cyborg stopped. "I don't think ya'll should be in here, my tech can stop the chemical from entering my system, but you guys don't have any protection." The other's gently nodded and sat outside the doors, awaiting the results.

TWO HOURS LATER… 

"Well, I'm finished." Cyborg replied, walking out of the infirmary.

"And…?" Beastboy asked, fidgeting with his hands.

"Surprisingly it worked, I can't explain it." Cyborg said, scratching the back of his head in utter puzzlement.

"Well that's good, right?" Raven replied, unsure of Cyborg's strange withdrawal.

"Yeah, it's good. But we still have to figure out how we're going to track it." Cyborg said with a still unsure tone.

"I do not think that we should relay this information to Robin." Starfire said immediately.

"I agree, Robin worked his heart too much, we should just let him rest." Raven said, Starfire instantly gave her a small smile of thanks.

"Yeah, but what happens when Robin wakes up? He's gonna see that we're not here." Beastboy asked.

"I'll go." Raven said suddenly, gathering aghast stares from the titans. "I'm the only one who can." Raven replied, beginning to explain.

"What do you mean?" Beastboy questioned, completely dumbfounded.

"Robin won't suspect I've gone anywhere, just tell him I'm in my room or I went to a poetry reading or something."

Cyborg and the rest began to understand. "So I guess it's good that you're always in your room." Cyborg said with a smile.

Raven smirked back. "So can you wire the results to my communicator?" She asked Cyborg, handing him her device.

"Sure..just give me a sec'…" Cyborg said, pressing buttons on his arm, "and done." He said handing the newly equipped communicator back to her. "Just so you know, if you don't respond by noon we're coming after you.

Raven began to turn when an emotional outburst from Beastboy stopped her. "So that's it! We're just letting her go all alone!" He screamed. "What if Slade is still alive and he's behind the whole thing!"

"Beastboy," Raven said, hoping her calm voice would also calm him down, "Slade was destroyed, we know that. The Slade Robin saw was nothing but an apparition, an image created by a no good coward hiding out somewhere on the other side of the city. This person wasn't even brave enough to show himself, I'm sure I can take whatever he throw's at me." She finished. She eyed the others until she was satisfied with their looks of agreement. She turned and began to head back to the main room of the tower. She was stopped by a strong arm on her shoulder.

"Raven, I wish to accompany you on your journey to find 'the trigger.'" She said oddly. Raven starred into her eyes. She knew what Starfire's heart truly ached for.

"Starfire, stay her until Robin is awake, he'll need you. "She replied simply, sending her the slightest hint of an understanding smile. Starfire returned her smile and began to walk back to her room.

Raven watched her retreating figure for a few seconds and then pulled out her communicator. "On the other side of the city!" She said in disbelief as she eyes the map. "Ugh, today is going to be a long day." She said as she resumed walking down the hallway.

"Okay this should be it." Raven said, lowering her communicator. "Why is it always some run-down warehouse!" She replied to herself as she gazed upon the half-collapsed hunk of metal. She peeling back the rust covered door and waltzed in to find a giant computer complete with a group of empty chairs. The window near the door illuminated all of the room with light, save a shadow infested corner. Raven squinted at the patch of darkness and found the outline of a man. Before she could say anything the dark figure moved and placed itself in the sunlight.

Raven's eyes spread wide open in surprise. "You!"

oh, who could it be! Okay you'd have to be an idiot if you don't know!REVIEW AND HELP ME OUT WITH IDEAS PLEASE!

fatcat11388


	2. Lust

Ok, seriously you guys…I never thought I would get that many reviews for posting one chapter, I expected three, maybe four but never EIGHTEEN! As a huge thank you I have personally wrote a thanks to everyone who reviewed! And to everyone who didn't, thanks for reading! Oh, and also a new chapter! Sorry for the non-updating, if you look at the end of my profile there is a thorough explanation as to why!

REVIEWER THANKS:

Loves-winged-dark-angel: Thanks so much for being my first reviewer for this fic!

Evilsangle: yeah, it was X! oh, and sorry about not updating asap!

Tokyogurl1: It's alright that you didn't have any ideas, here's your chance to think of more!

Lady Sonora the Black-Rose: In this chapter I used one of your ideas…and about Red-X liking Raven…I'm not telling! Heehee

KitsuneTales: I'm glad that you enjoyed the first chapter, hopefully you like the second just as much!

SnakeMistress: I know it was mean to end it at a cliffy, but I figured that's how people will remember the fic and come back to read when it's updated, even if it took me forever for chap. Two!

Syunikiss: I know how you feel, I love redx/rae fics! That's why I made a C2 for it! Please feel free to read the archive, it's called Chemical Romance. Oh, and it's okay that you didn't have any ideas!

Sage Raven: thanks, for reviewing, have you updated your fic yet, if so I'll be dropping in t'read it soon!

Kacie: actually I was thinking of using your idea in the first place, so yay for you!

Autumn in bloom: Thanks, though it's taken me a very long time to find my inspiration I finally found it!

GCBillysGal: Whoa now, don't attack me! cowers in fear. Look I updated see? hold up updated fic…DON'T KILL ME!

Charlotte: I tried to put a lot of action in this chappie, but I dunno how it turned out…oh, and yeah, it's a romance fic!

Emberwings: yeah, wow what to say to such a great author, bows down . Well yeah I think we got the drop me a line thing figured out so anyways, so I think part of being a staff member is just if you see any fics that you think would be a good addition just go ahead and add them. So yeah, thanks so much for joining!

Teenyugiohpotterphantom: Wow, that's a really long name! Anyways, thank you so much for pointing out my mistakes, about the switching scenes thing..I put those little border things… like and stuff but it cut all of them out…it's done that to a lot of my fics and it's very annoying, so I'm trying not to put an of those in this chapter so it won't be confusing…and about the episode haunted, I could've sworn I had an authors note at the beginning that said it went off that ep. But obviously I didn't, thus the confusion. Anyways, thanks for the review and the helpfulness!

Chinxy: Now's your chance to see what happens… quick READ!

Tiggi luna333: You've figured out my masta plan, I always use cliffies to bring back readers…now you must die! Just messin! Use cliffies in your fics…it works!

Trinity: A little too much "luv" perhaps, just playin! I luv luv luv luv your review!

SnufflesWillRise: you got he sparing right, and I might use your idea of a deeper plot revealed, but I'm not quoting it! Thanks for the review!

Okay now if you were wondering about the unexplained switching of scenes and the lack of an explanation of how the plot developed read the review thanks of Teenyugiohpotterphantom. I don't feel like putting it twice!

Okay now for chapter two!

Chapter Two: Lust

"No, I-It can't be you!" Raven stuttered eyes permanently wide in shock.

"It most certainly is." The voice responded with a masked smile.

"Red-X!" Raven exclaimed, more rather to herself than the thief that stood in her presence.

"In the flesh." He replied, Raven couldn't explain it, for words could not express the faint outline of obnoxiousness and lust flowing though his drawl of speech.

"But you're gone, you vanished that night at the lab!" Raven attempted to convince herself that the costumed thief standing before her was merely an illusion controlled, by what she expected to be, a forty year old bald man trying to get his kicks by confusing the mysterious titan.

"Hmm…yes the lab…" He hummed, titling his head upwards into the endless boulevard of his memories. Raven wouldn't show of admit it, but his voice lulled her to a drowsy state. A blessing her hood was mounted on her head, for if it hadn't been Red-X would've spied the delicate run of crimson knitted into her pale cheeks as she hurriedly denied her emotions and thrusted her thoughts back to the present. "Well, someone up there must like me." He finished dully, neither explaining his miraculous survival, nor putting to rest Raven's accountable suspicions.

"I guess so, "Raven responded, snapping her flagrantly wandering attention back to her conversation, "but you're still a criminal…" She trailed off, darkening the space around her balled fists as Red-X finished her statement.

"Yeah, and you're still a titan, so what're we waiting for?" Red-X challenged, providing a horrific fighter stance. Red-X the ever-vigilant thief leapt into action first, extending his leg to kick out an X blade that must've been shadowed in the folds of his costume, for it came out of no where! Raven, being equally wary created a dense fog that clouded the air before her, shielding her from her foe's attack.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Raven laughed at X's incompetence to hit her.

She vaguely heard a grunt of amusement escaping the dark man's curved lips. "Don't worry babe, I'm just getting started." He said as he leapt high into the air and bent his arm under his legs, putting all his weight into the attack, intending to knock the startled girl unconscious.

'Did he just call me babe!' A shocked Raven asked herself, no sooner had the thought grazed her mind than it left her. She quickly pushed her thoughts away and pulled herself back into the present, which consisted of Red-X, inches away from her head, ready to bash the life out of her. She only had a few seconds to dodge his assault, the only thing that came to her mind was to fall forward and another shocking thought, 'I'm not going to make it!'

Red-X eyed his prey warily as the distance between them grew to millimeters. He smiled as she bent herself forward, as if she was breaking into a run. His smile grew ten-fold as his arm collided with her upper-back. He heard a sickening crack as she crumpled to the floor. His sensitive ears picked up a moan of anguish as the cloak enhanced pile writhed and squirmed. A hand emerged from underneath the tattered cape, urging the contents inside to follow suit. The victorious thief watched in utter amusement as his foe attempted to crawl away. He stepped on her outstretched arm and felt the mystic hand of déjà vu as he bound her hands together. Red-X rested his folded arms across his chest in triumph and watched Raven push and pull her wrist in a futile effort to break the bond.

RAVEN'S POV

My back screamed in pain with every worthless move I made. What in the seven hells ever made me volunteer to track this alone? I could be back at the tower meditating or doing a million other more enjoyable things, I'd even rather be playing Cyborg and Beastboy's mindless video games than to be in the hands of Red-X.

Suddenly Raven felt a pair of eyes in her that brought her out of her fits of internal rage. Raven jerked her head, roughly slapping the fallen locks of violet from her cadaverous skin. She found her suspicions of someone watching her to be correct. She glanced up to see Red-X knelt beside her, they looked at each other for the longest time. Though Raven couldn't see X's eyes, she was certain that they were locked with her own.

Raven suddenly felt her heart throb as the deafening silence and endless gaze at one another continued.

RED-X POV

I lifted my hand towards her face. I was amazed when she flinched. Did she think I was going to hurt her? "Well probably since you did just tie her up!" a nonchalant emotion cried in his head. I've always known her to be fierce, like she never needed anyone. She always seemed more comfortable being alone. But when she flinched it seemed more like an unwanted withdrawal to me. Maybe she does want someone. I proceeded to inch my hand closer to the fallen titan until it reached her amethyst strands of hair. I softly raked my hands through it, memorizing each silky smooth lock that came into my embrace, it brought a warm feeling to my frigid heart as I aroused the scent from it. I beckoned it to me forever as the scent of lavender filled my nostrils, awakening an unproclaimed lust in me.

The quickly setting sun filled the room with a golden aura. Red-X stood up and allowed Raven's thoughts to be processed once again. 'What was that? What was that pervert doing?' She thought, thought it was far from how she felt. Red-X had also awakened the long since neglected feeling of lust in her. A stabbing pain shoved her to the present once again. She eyed her softly red painted wrists. The ties on her wrists were beginning to irritate her skin, a clear sign from the slight swollen bulge around the crimson bond. 'Oh, well at least my friends will be here soon and then they can take can finally throw Red-X in jail, for good. Suddenly a wave of panic washed over her. 'It's sunset, Cyborg said that they would be here at noon!' She eyed the computers in the corner of the room, she saw X typing rapidly on one of them, but she paid no attention, for she was on another mission. 'A-ha!' She thought as she saw the digital clock at the bottom of one screen. '6:00!' She gasped aloud, but the purring of the computers and clicking of the keyboard thoroughly disguised it. 'They were supposed to come for me at noon!' She remembered, thinking back to Cyborg's unkept promise. 'I guess they could've run into trouble." She said, remembering that they were, after all, super heroes. A clearly uncomfortable look was captured on Raven's face as Red-X had noticed when he inconspicuously stalked up behind her.

Her back screamed in protest as he roughly turned her over. "Worried about you friends I see." He said, as if he was reading her thoughts. "Don't worry, they're a little caught up." He laughed.

"What did you do to them!" Raven asked, . "Don't worry, they're a little caught up." He laughed.

"What did you do to them!" Raven asked anger ringing throughout her voice as she wildly squirmed, trying to remove her captured wrists. Finally, her mission had caught up with her pulsing mind, "why did you trigger that mask!" She asked suddenly, forcing X to kneel down to her once again. Red-X did something that even he didn't expect: he ripped off his mask, his face now thoroughly disguised by the dark blanket of night, grasped her head roughly pulling her upwards and planted a hard kiss on her lips. The titan's eyes went wide as she felt her mouth being smothered. She frantically tried to remove herself, but failed miserably. She gave up quickly, as a similar feeling began to ignite itself once again. However, this moment ended abruptly when X finally released her lips and dropped her head back on the ground. Her back gave another stab of protest but was harshly silenced by X's words.

"I'm sorry, but I will have to save the explanations for later." He replied to Raven's forgotten questions as he slapped his mask on once again.

Only one thought tugged itself from the vast ocean, of unanswered questions lingering in Raven's mind, 'who is the guy!'

END OF CHAPTER TWO!

Okay that's it…sorry for the shortness!…

Alright now for a little advertisement:

**I currently have a C2 labeled "Chemical Romance" it is based off of the RedX/rae pairing or the redx/rae/rob pairing…If you have any fics that you would like to add, become a staff member, or would just like to read more delectable Rae/redx fics… give us a visit! Thanks!**


	3. Mask

Hey everyone, I thought that I'd put out another chapter before school starts…in 4 days!NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! And you're gonna hate it more than me because it's unlikely that I'll be able to update very often, with both a job and work, but I may quit…It may be too much for me to handle. I really hope that I quit cuz I want my senior year to be fun. Well anyways enough of my rantings, here's numba three! In this chapter I made it so you can get into Red-X's head..a little more than usual. Oh wait review thanks…can't forget that!….

REVIEW THANKS… 

Teenyugiohpotterphantom: grins evily. I;m not telling you were the Titans are MUAHAHAH! Wow, you do babble a lot! Just messin' I do to! Hehe. So yeah I don't think that wee little note at the beginning, just another flaw in my unextistent logic. So yeah thanks for comin back t'read, I 'ppreciated it!

SnakeMistress: uh, this has been bothering me…what does that "ja matte ne till then" thingy you put at the end of reviews mean….TELL ME I MUST KNOW!

Physicflower: unfortunetly you won't be able to find out where the titans are until chapter four!HAHAHAHAHA!I'M EVIL!….erm…

Whitedarkness: oh they knew he was alive but Raven was just wondering how he survived the fall into the ocean….and things.

SageRaven: apparently you weren't the only one confused on the Redx confusion thing…when Raven asked how he lived she knew that he was alive but she wanted to know how he survived from the fall of the cliff thingy! So yeah!

Spiracle: I know I have school in four days, so I updated because I probably won't be able to again in like a month! UGH!

Evilsangle: thanks and here's your update!

Trinity: At the end of this fic I'm going to add up every "luv" that you type in the reviews, so far we have…64 "luvs" and hopefully I have more….that is if you review….

Syunikiss: I really tried to let you get into Red-X's mind without making it seem OOC, u think I did a good job eh? Well thank thee!

Crzy Grl: you mean you like my sense of humor in the story or in the author's note…or both? Well thanks for reviewing!

Tokyogurl1: hmm…. Son of Slade eh? I guess it could happen…wierder things in the show have….slade coming back to life, robin creating an alter ego which I sadistically twist to fit into my fic….cyborg going back in time….it would be original I'll give you that..I'll think about it! Thanks for the idea and review!

SisterOf Raven: hehehehe I should be called queen of cliffies…bow down before me!MUAHAHAHAH!……and things…

Vismorgana: Redx/rae is one of my fav. Pairings too….thus the creation of this fic…ENJOY CHAPTER THREE!

Onto the fic!

Chapter Three: Mask

'Where are you?' Raven asked herself, referring to the distinct absence of her friends. She tried to turn her body to see what her captor was doing but was stopped by the familiar pain that had been residing in her back for hours. She grimaced in pain as she tried to sit up. She hadn't taken notice to the shadow that had positioned itself behind her.

RED-X'S POV

I watched her squirm in pain. Somehow it didn't give me a satisfying feeling, but rather pitiful. I almost felt ashamed that I had hurt her. As I continued to watch her try to find a comfortable position a sudden thought dawned on me. Why had she not used her powers? She possessed a great deal if I'm not mistaken. She could've easily bested me and be back with her friends by now. It's strange that I'd rather have her here, cowering at my feet. She began to move her legs to turn herself over, removing the obstructing cloak from her flawless body…well maybe not all that strange.

---

Raven felt icy cold fingers touch her legs. She glanced down to see X gazing at them longingly while absentmindedly stroking them. His thoughts came back to play when a foot roughly collided with his face. He staggered back a few feet, clutching his cheek.

"Naughty naughty." He scolded, kneeling down to her again. "I might just have to teach you a lesson." He said, presenting her back with a firm punch. He received a moan of anguish that sounded throughout his ears. He closed his eyes, listening as Raven gasped and tried to catch her breath as the pain still radiated through her body. He opened them and glanced down at her, he felt a pang of guilt as he noticed her eyes shut tight, fighting back tears.

Ignoring her cries, and his own, of protest he carefully turned her on her stomach. He placed his foot firmly on the middle of her spine and loosened the bonds on her wrists before grasping both of them. He gently pulled them behind her back towards him. A horrendous shriek echoed throughout the empty warehouse before coming to an abrupt end. A short snap could be heard by the two as X released her wrists.

Raven felt all the pain come to an end as her spine fell back into place. She sat up and looked at Red-X, her delicate eyebrows knitting together in complete confusion. Although noticing her puzzled expression, gave no explanation, he merely brought his hand down to her. She looked at it for a few seconds, thinking he hid some kind of weapon in it, before resting her own in it, graciously accepting his help. He pulled her up easily, and they starred at each other for a few moments. Her eyes reflected even deeper confusion at her opponents uncharacteristic moment. She muttered a monotoned thank you, though he was in no position to receive such a comment, after all, he was holding her hostage.

Raven could've done a million things at that moment. She could've ran away, back to her friends. She could've attacked Red-X and surely beaten him. She even could've battered him with relentless questions and accusations. Her options were limitless, but she chose the oddest of the bunch, she chose to stand there and stare at her masked captor, as if all her problems could be solved by just looking at him. Although she did find it a little uncomfortable to stare, unwavering at someone for so long, she found herself more at ease to find X starring at her as well.

RED-X'S POV

I wanted to tell her how beautiful her eyes were, how beautiful she was, but I knew I couldn't. The mask I wear isn't just to hide my face, it represents the façade I wear as well. If I told her she was the most beautiful creature I've ever seen, she would no doubt see beyond my mask, and a high dollar thief like myself cannot allow such unplesantries. I had to do the only thing that I could to prevent her from revealing my guise.

"Go." I ordered, turning my head to hide from her shocked gaze.

"W-What?" She stuttered, in utter shock at my lenience.

"Go, go back to your friends." I repeated, her eyes drawing me back. Deep within her gaze I discovered something unfamiliar amongst the shock and confusion, it was withdrawal, like she didn't want to leave. I looked away again, knowing this could not be so.

With one last look she turned and ran for the door, her weightless steps echoing in my mind. As the rusted door fell back into place I slumped back to my chair, my thoughts unwavering.

Little did I know, I had let her see through more of my mask then I could comprehend.

END OF CHAPTER THREE---

Okay sorry It wasn't that long but my brain is being really annoying right now…not to mention stupid, it used to be so easy to write a chapter, now I can barely write a well-written sentence, it sucks….well look out for chapter four in about a month cuz of stoopid school! If your want to see a full explanation (which I'm sure none of you care) visit my profile page! Oh and also….

VISIT MY RAE/REDX C2 "CHEMICAL ROMANCE" PLEASE! TELL ME IF YOU LIKE!

FATCAT


	4. Arrival

Hey everybody!

Sorry for not updating sooner…and (as you'll find out) for the shortness of this chapter, but lo! Don't kill me, yet. I'm almost done writing chapter 5! Plus I really liked the way this one ended and didn't want to add in other shit! So yeah, expect an update sometime within the next few weeks!

REVIEW THANKS:

Evilsangle: ugh, I know but I can't quit cuz then I would have no way to save for college…and other things ! Thanks for the reviews!

SnakeMistress: oh, that's cool (about the whole Japanese obsession) my best friend of 10 yrs. Has the fascination with it too, I mean I enjoy Japanese culture as much as the next person…but it's no obsession…I actually have the strange obsession with drinking tea (just a wee lil fact bout me!) my friends call me a teaholic! Heehee well anyways enough of my senseless ramblings…enjoy chapter 4!

Psycicflower: Yeah I know what you mean about chapter being short and still good, but I like to have at least 2000 words per chapter (though I know this one isn't even close!) just to make myself feel better, like I can actually write for a certain length….ANYWAYS! keep on reviewin'!

Crzy Grl: oh okay..sorry I'm retarded! Bless you for reviewing! Oh and I know what you mean about other fics…not being very good (trying not to say suck, dammit I just did!) some people don't even use spell check! Welp anywho thanks 4 reviewing!

Chinxy: I actually think I haven't updated in over a month, oops! But yeah, thanks for visiting my C2, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from it!

GCBillysGal: oh no, not you. You're the one who keeps killing famous authors all over the site! I've heard the stories!DON'T KILL ME!HAVE MERCY! Erm…anyways thanks for reviewing! cowers in a corner

Whitedarkness: actually I live in Colorado, USA and go to a super stoopid public school, not even off campus lunches!WTF? well anyways, here's your long awaited update!

Trinity a.k.a. Delirium24: hey thanks for joining my staff, my C2 seems to be flourishing jumps up and down!. Well anyways I think the count now, including the 2nd review is…..152! YAY!

SisterOfRaven: here's da update!

Tokyogurl1: heyz! Thanks for checking out my C2! I feel so loved! Well anywho I hope that you along with everybody else hasn't abandoned me yet, from my lack of updating!

Teenyugiohpotterphantom: sup yo! Anyways, yes..love struck is the idea…hehehehe, you've found out my masta plan…oh no, you don't work for the government do you! runs away

Teen Titans Obsessor: thanks for the GR8T review! Oh and sorry I couldn't post sooner!

Veronica: Ok I hope you waited cuz here's your update!

Frosted Flake19: oooh I love frosted Flakes, they is good! And yes SCHOOL SUCKS MAJORLY…although it did give me the opporotunity to get off my ass and write this next chapter, so you all should be thankful!

Lol61188: what an interesting choice of screen name, though I'm one to talk, I mean fatcat11388, come on…LAME! Well anywho thanks for reviewing!

Scooterkiller: speechless, aww come one blushes. Your just sayin' that! Heehee

SnufflesWillRise: yeah I thought this chapter was way betta than chapter 2! Thanks for the reviews and construstive criticism, I thought it was…delightful (sorry for the "…" I had to think of a word, hehe!)

PrincessofDiamonds: I'm glad that you've gotten into rae/redx it was my goal as an authoress to create a fic and C2 of rae/redx that would make people scream for more! Yay!

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Raven's magic: at first when I checked my emails and I got your review I thought that you said that you didn't like it…I have a tendency to read fast, especially reviews! So I read it again, and thank god it wasn't a flame, I'd have to feel guilty that I didn't do a good job! But seeing as how this wasn't the case I guess I should stop typing and let you get to the fic!

Lulu Cross: Thanks, I try to write chapters with extreme detail, I'm glad you thought that it was good!

Jessica: whoa, that's my name too! Hehe, well anyways thanks for reviewing!

Thiswolflovesnoone: sorry for the short chapters..my attention span has seemed to be dwindling as of late…thus why this chapter is so short…but alas….DON'T LEAVE ME!

Chapter 4: Arrival

RAVEN'S POV

I ran and ran until my legs were kindling a fury of flames. It was only until I reached a swarm of people that I remembered I have powers to water my burns. Funny, I was born with them, how could I ever forget to use them? I left my thoughts lying in the dust and I levitated myself into the air, holding out my arms, resuming the form of a flying raven. Why did I hesitate? It was almost like he was forcing me to stay. I shook my head roughly, knocking a few stray locks into my face. But her wasn't! He let me go. I shifted my back and rolled my shoulders, a slight soreness still lingering, reminding me of the lenience my captor had presented me with when I was in his grasp. "Who are you, Red-X?" I asked aloud, providing the whistling wind with a monotoned companion.

--------------

"Come on titans, we can take him!" Robin yelled, getting slightly getting annoyed at the enemies triumph. Then Robin's thought's strayed to Plasmus' escape. He had been put back into his solution-sealed prison, unconsciously suspended in the water-like liquid. "He was heavily guarded, how'd he escape!" he said to himself aloud. He then looked around at his enemy engaged comrades, yet one was missing. "And where's Raven!"

"Yo Robin!" Cyborg yelled, interrupting Robin's thoughts. "Quit talkin' to yourself and get in here and help us!" Cyborg finished as Beastboy whizzed by his head in the form of a lion, reminding Robin that he had been standing off to the side of the battle for the past few minutes, watching the rest of them get their butts kicked.

CYBORG'S POV

"Quit talkin' to yourself and get in here and help us!" I yelled, though I really wished that he wasn't even here. After we got the call, Robin insisted that he go. I told him we could handle it, even with Rae gone (which I refused to answer the question of where she was, even after Robin demanded it). That reminds me…I look down to my computerized arm, it flashed a digital clock that read 3:00. Rae! I thought suddenly. She would've realized that we were out and come to find us by now! If she wasn't in trouble…

---------------

She landed gracefully on the jagged rocks jutting out from their small island home. She found it odd that the window's were not illuminated by the warm friendly lights that she had become accustomed to.

"Hmm…maybe they're out. That's when she remembered. 'Red-X! He said that they were 'caught up.' She quoted. She reached for her communicator, normally nestled into her belt that loosely wrapped around her slim waist. Surprisingly her hands couldn't locate them. She ushered her eyes downward to assist her searching hands, but they too came up empty handed.

"My communicator, where is it!" She said to the waves lapping against the shore. "I must've dropped it at that warehouse." She replied, glowering into the vast ocean, just the thought of that rusted old building made her think of her unwanted time with X. She growled and clenched her fists at the thought of him touching her, how vulnerable she had felt. Yet she didn't use her powers on him, 'why?' she thought deeply…

RAVEN'S POV

Why! Why didn't I use my powers on him! I could've sent him clear across the universe, yet I allowed him to touch me. I just can't figure It out, it's almost like a part of me…liked it.

-----------------

A clearly visible shake of her head could be seen. "I need to find them." She decided. "But I can't stop thinking about him!" She said, grasping her head in an attempt to control her emotions, She glanced downward to her wrists, still bulging with pain. She gripped her left wrist and brought her eyes up to face the shimmering waters. Her eyes widened suddenly in realization…

"Oh no, I think I…"

END OF CHAPTER 4

Hahaha how'd u like the cliffy? If you want more you know what to do…my goal for reviews is 100!help me achieve it…PLEASE! If you all review I give u a little hint about wuts happening in chapter 5!

Okay u talked me into it…Rae takes a shower and guess who's watching..yes I know it's a little sick, but there's no graphic descriptions! U think that I should change this to Mature rating?


	5. Dominance

Hey hey hey people! I'm back with chapta 5! And I know how all of you were expecting the "shower scene" (heehee) but I decided not to write it till next chapter…So don't be mad cuz I know all you pervs will be, but just stick around till next chapter! Oh and I think that I'll keep the rating the same, czu more people wanted that than for me to make it M.

REVIEW THANKS!

Okay so I went to go to my review pages and my Stoopid compy wouldn't let me…so just a HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed and sorry I couldn't do individual responses this time!

Chapter 5: Dominance

There they are!" She said aloud, as her search for the titans came to an abrupt end. A small shadow could be seen on the shimmering pavement. It doubled in size as Raven gently lowered herself downward. Her feet gracefully caught her body as her tattered cloak wrapped itself around her thin legs.

RAVEN'S POV

I was a little annoyed at how far away they were. A meaningless task purposely plotted out by Red-X. Though he could've chosen a better enemy than Plasmus…Well I guess ever since Slade came into out lives, no other villain can compare.

----------------

She confidently strode towards the battle scene, her gaze following a roughed-up looking Starfire as she was launched into a dumpster. She objected to the attack with a surprised 'oof,' then fell silent as her head collided with the putrid metal barrier containing unwanted items riddled with disease.

Raven, always thinking of other before herself, could already hear the incessant complaints of the dirt ridden alien. She could see her looks of horror and atrociousness as she attempted to rub the grime from her normally beautiful red hair. Internally chanting her mantra, Raven surrounded Starfire's unconscious body in her aura and gently lifted her from out of the infested dumpster. She withdrew her powers and Starfire's form settled beside the dumpster, yet out of harm's way from the enemy until she recovered.

"Raven!" Cyborg shouted in relief as he gazed upon her. She snapped her head up in surprise. Cyborg began to commence towards her, eyeing her for any little scratch he saw. His investigation halted when a spurt of slime shot through the air and landed inches away from Cyborg's feet. It began to quickly erode through the thick pavement, melting it away until it was dispersed. Cyborg swiveled his head to meet the archer of this deadly acid. Plasmus stood a few yards away, in a terrifying stance. He clenched his mucus-like hands and released and angry high-pitched roar.

Cyborg, temporarily forgetting the dark titan, leapt into action, blasting his sonic canon unmercifully. In Plasmus' view, however, his attacks didn't even scratch him, for every time he was hit, there stood a gaping hole, which would mold together with more burgundy-colored goo. Cyborg ceased his futile attempts at once and then began to pick heavy pipes and other random objects up and bat away the foe's limbs. However, his attack backfired when he threw a large chunk of metal at his stomach. The mucus-encased body engulfed the smooth surface and then spit it out, twice as hard as it had initially been tossed. It slammed into Cyborg with a vivid, loud clank. He was hurled backwards with a dent labeled on his chest and a slew of fireworks surrounding it.

Upon seeing Cyborg's unconscious body, Raven switched into attack mode and jumped into action, summoning her dark powers. She formed two darkened shears on the side of her hands and began slashing widely. Each time the blades stretched themselves just far enough to slice the enemy and then it would recoil, back into her fists. She continued this snake-like assault, each time cutting deeply into her victim. Yet every cut would relay no damage as the goo-encased villain would sew himself back together only moments after a well-aimed strike.

A small trickle of sweat began to pool on her forehead as it glimmered in the full moon, making Raven appear even paler than she already was. Plasmus was getting the upper-hand and she knew it. What else could become of an almost indestructible monster? As fatigue accumulated in her body, Raven's action's slowed immensely and finally dwindled at a stand still as she refused to strike back and just focused on dodging her opponents swift attacks. Her exhaustion grew to a critical point as a thick ball of acidic goo was thrown at her and she almost got hit, full-force, with it. She quickly snapped her head in a direction where it wouldn't smack her in the face. Fortunately, she avoided it just in time, save from the few locks of hair that had been coated in it. It made quick work of it's prey as it ate her hair quickly and then itself, disintegrating into a fine dust with only the smell of burning hair lingering on it.

Raven quickly grasped her singed hair, after it had burned away. Her mind was not in the battle anymore, so it came as a shock to her when a giant shadow loomed above her. She looked up slowly and her eyes formed into saucers at the horrific sight that lay before her. Plasmus towered above her, his fist raised high in the air, only moments from striking her down. She stood frozen on the spot, looking at him, much like a deer would look at the head lights of a car. He began to bring his hands down, ready to crush the life out of her. She shut her eyes tight and grimaced, waiting for the searing pain to erupt from her flesh, but that pain never came. Instead an incredible shout of 'BOOYAH!' rang throughout her ears. She straightened her twisted face and opened her eyes to see Cyborg, still sparkling like crazy, beating Plasmus with the pipe that had, until now, lay forgotten off to the side of the battle. Chunks of mucus flew off of the stunned foe and landed on the ground, disintegrating only moments after the layers of the victim until he fell to his knees and a goo-covered man lay sleeping in the ruble.

Cyborg threw the pipe aside and leaned over, resting his hands on his bent knees.

"Cyborg." Raven said weakly, also tired from her recent battles.

He held up a hand, silencing her. He lifted his head up and smiled, showing her that he was fine. She returned his smile.

They both snapped their heads to a groaning pile of ruble that had begun to move. Encased within the pile was a dust-covered Beastboy, who emerged seconds later in the form of a tarantula. He swiftly morphed back to himself as the pile under him collapsed from his suddenly missing weight.

"Dudes, my head hurts." He complained, massaging his temples. Luckily his whining was interrupted by Robin, who up until now had remained unseen to Raven during the battle.

"Raven?" Robin said, confused and a little angry. "Where were you!"

Raven felt a pang of annoyance suddenly. After all she was on his mission, even if he didn't know it. "I was…" she racked her brain for a good lie, but in the end gave up, "out."

"Out!" Robin exclaimed, now enraged with her overly broad answer. "Out, when we needed you!"

"Robin chill." Cyborg interrupted, knowing well of her vague answer. Robin was fuming, but, despite the fact that he was the leader, he fell silent, stunned by Cyborg's effortless demand. "I think that we're all tired and we need to go back to the tower and get some shut-eye." Cyborg turned and began to walk back to the T-car, unaware of the other titan's not following him.

"Where were you?" Robin asked quieter, obviously taking advantage of Cyborg's absence.

Raven was definitely mad now and thought that Robin was being highly hypocritical, among other things…"Me! What about you!" She said, the calmness in her voice being taken over with anger. "I didn't even see you fight the whole time!"

Robin's brow knitted together in unmistakable anger as a now conscious Starfire appeared behind Robin. "I was helping Starfire!" He shouted back at her, loud enough for the world to hear. "Something I wouldn't have had to do if you were here in the first place!" He replied, now glaring daggers at her.

Raven scoffed. Surely she couldn't tell Robin the real reason she had not been there, he would be even angrier than he was now…What could she tell him to get him off her back! She sighed heavily, giving up quickly of thinking of a lie for the Boy Wonder to question. She wouldn't tell him anything, after all, he didn't deserve a reason.

"Robin, what is going on?" Starfire asked, finally entering the conversation. Although her timing couldn't be more perfect, Raven was still annoyed with the alien's incompetence to comprehend certain aggravating situation. That, and she just didn't know when to keep her pie hole shut.

Raven simply rolled her eyes and spun around, heading towards the still unaware man of metal.

END OF CHAPTER 5 

Okay so yeah..a little of Raven's internal bashing of Starfire…but she still considers her a good friend….so yeah not to worry (if you did) but anywho, sorry for the long update, work and school is a bitch!hehe


	6. Hate

Hey Everyone! I bet most of you thought I would NEVER update this fic..to be honest I thought the same thing! But alas here I am..I feel that after a year without updating I should be honest and give you the reason that I felt that I could not continue with this chapter.. So it's time to get serious for a sec… I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 17… My past year without any updates has made me more upset than you can imagine… but this year has been very trying for me..I hope that I have more control over my disease and that I can continue writing again…I know that a lot of readers liked and hopefully still like this fic and that's why after much deliberation that I have decided to continue writing it..I hope I still have some of my original readers still on the site and willing to read my update.but I think I should warn you that it's not as good as the previous chapters…it's like I have to start from the bottom up again…I mean I reread my other chapters… at first I thought "wow I couldn't have written this..its so..different from my writing now! But I shall be true to you, my loyal readers, I did infact write those chapters and I shall continue to write until this fic is completed! HOORAY!

Ok so stick with me if my writing style seems a little different…I gotta completely start over again…

Disclaimer: I don't own teen titans ( okay this part I would rather not keep writing!)

Chapter 6: Hate

The ride back to the tower had been quiet; accept for Starfire's incessant complaints. Robin rubbed her shoulder defiantly, comforting her, Raven simply sat with her legs and arms crossed, starring out the window, avoiding looking at anyone.

The T-car finally came to a stop on the rocky beach that was the titan's island. Raven wanted to be the first to exit the car. If anyone of her friends tried to stop her she might go ballistic on them, without means. Robin and Red-X both had sparked too many emotions in her, they were dying to be released, there were too many now aroused that could not be repressed. She had to meditate, for her friend's sake, she needed to meditate.

She rested her hand on the door ready to push it open and run as fast as she could to her room. _Quiet, I just need some peace and quiet._

"Raven," Robin started in an annoyingly authoritative tone, "I need to talk to you…" he eyes the others as the starred at him in disbelief… "alone." He finished, still starring at the others with no distinguishable emotions on his half-masked face.

Raven looked at her feet. She didn't know if she could handle talking to anyone right now, let alone Robin. She opened the door roughly, maybe if she saw how emotionally attached she was right now he would just drop the whole thing. Not a chance.

He helped a slightly injured and dirty looking Starfire from the car. "I'm going to take Starfire up to the infirmary and make sure she's ok, I want you to meet me in the main room afterwards." He demanded as his gloved hands wove there way around Starfire's shoulder and waist, supporting her body.

"Robin-"Starfire spoke, ready to say that she needed no help and that she was perfectly fine.

"All right." Raven interjected, needing a distraction badly. She could rehearse what she would say to the persistent Boy Wonder and hopefully gain the upper hand in the shouting match she knew would occur within the hour. _No! I need to meditate! How will I be able to with so much on my mind?_ Raven looked unsure of what she should do as she walked into the tower and up to her room. _This is going to be a long night._

Raven had decided to try and meditate first, that way she could do her rehearsing with a somewhat open mind. However, her meditating was useless as images of Red-X releasing her of her bonds keep plaguing her mind. She shut her eyes tight, trying to block out the picture. _I can't waste my energy on him! He is my enemy!_ She thought as her inner struggle pursued.

15 useless minutes of meditating later she opened her eyes. She starred at her clock, but seemed to look straight through it, deep in thought. _It's useless trying to come up with an excuse of what to tell him, maybe I should just tell him the truth?_ She shook her head roughly flinging the idea from her mind. _He would be even madder that we didn't tell him and he would drag everyone else in because they had let me go alone._ She uncrossed her legs and they hit the floor softly, _I guess I'll just see where the argument takes me._ She had finally decided as she made her way through the maze-like hallways.

The electronic doors swooshed open, creating a gust of wind that blew the hair from her ghostly face, She peered into the room first, waiting to see if Robin was already inside. The hue of her skin turned slightly paler as she discovered that he was indeed already waiting for her.

He stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed looking emotionless as he did when he was in the T-car earlier. Raven could tell just by his body language that he was completely and utterly closed-minded, he would not give up his views on the argument that they were about to have.

She closed her eyes and heaved a small sigh, she would not give up either. She opened her eyes and entered the room, slightly nervous because she had no idea what she was going to say. She stopped a few feet away from Robin and starred at him.

They just stood looking at eachother for a few moments. This annoyed Raven slightly, she just wanted to get this overwith so she could resume her meditation. "You wanted to talk?" She said plainly, trying to get the conversation started.

"I want to know where you were, no lies." Robin demanded, hugging his arms even tighter to his chest.

Raven scowled "I already told you I was out." She said again, not bothering to go into details.

"Raven don't give me that, look, Starfire could've been seriously hurt! We all could've!" Robin said trusting his hands out as his voice rose to a higher level.

"Starfire is fine." Raven said calmly, she began to shake as she tried harder to control her emotions. Her hands balled up in an effort to help.

"That's not the point! Part of being a Titan is about team work! We need every member to participate if this is going to work!" Robin yelled.

Raven was shaking even more now, more so that she could no longer control it. Robin was trying to educate her like she was a five year old! He's talking to me like he talks to Beastboy! "So what do you want to do! Kick me out!" Raven finally gave up and yelled even louder than Robin had.

"No, but if you keep acting this way maybe I'll give it some thought!" Robin replied, glaring at her intensly.

Raven had had enough. _Oh now he's being sarcastic! Who's the five year old now!_ "Well fine, I'll leave you to your thoughts then!" Raven yelled back angrily. She crossed her arms and spun on her heel, completely finished with this argument. Even if she had not gotten the upper hand she could not have stood being one more second in that room. She felt as though she needed to hit something, hit someone. But she decided on taking a walk instead. Although she never liked meditating while she was walking, it seemed a lot easier right now.

She needed to get away from the tower. Without a second thought she was airborne, heading for the deserted beach of jump city. The soft moonlight shone on the calm water below her, it somehow made her emotions easier to get a grip on. She landed on the othere side of the bay in Jump City. She listened as the sounds of car horns and construction faded and the sounds of the waves dancing on the shore was the only thing to be heard. She removed her short cut boots and stuck her toes in the pale sand. She was surprised at the fact that it was next to an overpopulated city, yet the sea and its beaches were clean and not the smallest piece of garbage could be seen for miles in any direction.

She released a huge sigh, as the sounds of nature calmed her immensely and quieted her raging emotions. She felt, or rather did not feel just like she was supposed to. She was starting to feel drowsy as the pain and soreness of her body that she had been ignoring had finally broken through her barrier. She massaged her swollen wrists as she continued to gaze out into the endless sea.

She was suddenly dragged out of her drowsy state when she heard someone approach behind her, spreading the sand around their bare feet.

"Hello" Came a reply.

END OF CHAPTER 6!

Ok that's it for this chapter! I hope that everyone liked it! I hope to start writing chapter 7 and post it in next week sometime! Please review and tell me if you want me to continue writing this fic!

Fatcat11388


	7. Break In

Heyz everyone! I told you I would update again right! Well since I kept my promise you should review my fic! Even if you don't like it! Well…maybe not..lol but review!

Chapter 7: Friend

"Hello." Came a reply.

Raven whipped her head around so quickly that her hair fell into her eyes. She bolted up from the ground, flinging sand everywhere. She hurriedly pushed her hair back behind her ears and turned towards the origin of the unknown voice. What stood before her surprised her thoroughly.

"S-Starfire?" Raven question, she raised a questioning eyebrow as her other eye slightly widened as well.

"Friend Raven, are you.." Starfire trailed off, searching for the right words, "okay." She said finally settling with her choice of words.

"Okay?" Raven asked, her emotions rising back up in her, where should she start!

"I'm sure Robin did not mean what he said." Starfire replied, trying to explain Robin's actions.

"No Starfire." Raven said, her voice lowering in sadness and realization. "He meant every word." She finished and with that she levitated herself from the beach and her moment of escape. Starfire watched as she headed back to the tower, she had a defeated look on her orange-toned face.

"Raven." She said apologetically as she turned away from Raven's retreating form.

Raven phased right through her window to her room, not wanting to face the others. They would just tell her how sorry they were, she didn't want to here that, any of it.

She heaved a huge sigh, unsure of what to do to get her mind off the past events of the day. She glanced around her room, looking for a good distraction. She looked around and around her amethyst eyes settled, unwavering, on her door. She could faintly make out the sound of foot steps approaching. Her eyes widened, could it be Robin coming to kick her out of the titans for good! _No! He wouldn't do that, he couldn't, he knows how much being a titan means to me!_ She pulled her hood up, attempting to hide from the pair of footsteps that were gradually getting louder and louder. She drew back into the darkest depth of her room never taking her eyes off the door. She crouched down silently as the footsteps stopped at her door. The door opened slowly as Raven held her breath.

Light illuminated her pitch black room and Raven withdrew a little more as she felt the cold wall touch her cloaked back. She winced in pain as her still sore back screamed in protest, but she dare not make sound as she continued to stare at the door in wonder. _Who would dare come into my room? Beastboy and Cyborg wouldn't that's for sure._ She figured, thinking back to the time they had gone into her room and gotten lost inside her mind. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the door opened a little more and revealed who the feet belonged to. _Robin!_

He pushed the door open all the way, peering inside her room. He scanned the whole room and Raven's eyes widened in horror when his gaze rested on the very corner that she was hidden in. She dare not move, even breath. He would see. He finally sighed, giving up his search. He looked at his feet and raised his arm and itched the back of his head. Raven peered at him in interest. _It almost looks like he's sorry!_ But she instantly dismissed the thought as stupid. She then glared at him, _he didn't seem very sorry when he threatened to kick me out of the titans._ She became even more rigid when he turned away and shut the door. He hadn't seen her! Her room became dark again as she heard his footsteps retreating away from her.

She stood up again and inhaled, the color returning, somewhat, to her face. _That was close._ She thought, but then another thought dawned on her, why had she been hiding from him in the first place? Did she really think that he would kick her out of the titans, for good! She didn't want to find out.

Without another thought on the subject she levitated herself into the air and began to meditate, whispering her mantra. A few more hours and she would be completely in control again.

As the time passed Titan's Tower began to grow quiet as midnight began to approach. Raven's room was silent as she had fallen into a deep slumber only moments ago. All the lights were out in the tower, yet someone was still awake, someone still lingered just outside the thick metal encased windows of the giant T-shaped tower.

With expert stealth Red X scaled the great building, easily jumping from window to window until he reached his destination at last. "Ah." He said with glee as his target lay before him.

Raven lay, still in a restless slumber. The darkness encased her blanket covered form, unknowing of the thief right outside her window. Red X fumbled with the switch on his utility belt and disappeared leaving behind a cloud of what appeared to be black static. He reappeared moments later in Raven's room.

Without warning, red lights began to flash and a jarring alarm blared over the P.A. system, though this didn't seem to phase Red-X. Raven bolted upright in her bed, looking frantically around her room to see where the noise had come from. "It's just the alarm." Raven sighed as she swung her legs over the side of her bed, but then realized that she was not alone in her room.

"Hey babe, what's goin' on?" Came a reply that made Raven's heart race.

"X!"


	8. Silence

Chapter 8: Silence

"X!" She breathed, "Wh-what are you doing here!" Raven asked, shielding herself with the blankets.

"Let's just say I was checking in on you." His computer programmed voice gave a hollow laugh.

"My friends will be here soon." Raven observed, not taking her eyes off the masked villain. "They'll be coming for you."

"Too bad there won't be anything to find." He replied, and having said that he vanished, leaving a thin trail of black and red smoke in his wake.

Raven looked at the spot where Red-X just stood. _Why would he break in and just leave like that! He didn't even take anything! _Raven was brought out of her thoughts as a loud knock erupted from outside her door.

"Raven!" She could hear Robin call frantically. _Oh now he cares_. She instantly regretted her thoughts as she quickly walked to her door. _After all, he had come to apologize earlier, I think._ She opened her door slightly and peeked out. Robin, Beastboy, Cyborg, and Starfire all stood outside her door with there game faces on.

"Are you all right Raven!" Robin said, resting his hand on her door to open it a little wider.

"I'm fine." Raven monotoned, though she was far from it.

"Well what set off the alarms then?" He asked her, now annoyed that he was woken up from a deep slumber.

Raven glanced at Cyborg with pleading eyes. _Out of all the titans Cyborg had to be the most perceptive, other than Robin, please let him see this!_

"I-it must be the alarm system, must have a glitch or something." Cyborg responded as Raven breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Robin eyed Raven for a moment before giving in. "All right, but your sure no ones in their Raven?" He double checked as Raven held the door open wider, knowing that he would not take her word for it. After a moment of searching Raven's room Robin finally give up. "All right team, false alarm, everyone can go back to bed." Starfire, Beastboy, and Cyborg practically ran back to their rooms, thank full that they didn't have to fight any villains at two in the morning. Robin began to retreat when he turned back to Raven. "Raven," he stopped, choosing his words carefully, "I'm sorry about earlier, about what I said, I would never kick you out of the titans no matter how mad I was. I'm sorry." He finished, bowing his head in sincerity.

Now it was Raven's turn to feel sorry, he had just apologized and she was still standing there, lying through her teeth. "It's ok Robin, sometimes people emotions get the better of them." She chose to reply, speaking through experience as she gave Robin the smallest hint of a smile.

"So…Friends again?" He asked her.

"We never stopped being friends, Robin." Raven reminded him, and with that shut her door slowly. She heard Robin's footsteps as they slowly quieted, until the echo stopped all together.

Raven sat on the edge of her bed; she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. She was wide awake thanks to a certain visitor. She sat on her bed thinking of what to do, and in the end she decided to go up to the roof and meditate to try and clear her head of thoughts of Red-X.

She teleported upwards towards the roof of the tower, finally reaching her destination she found it to be a little chilly, but meditation was all about blocking psychical feelings so she had no problem with it. She levitated a few feet in the air, closed her eyes, and began chanting her mantra quietly. There was something about the night that she liked, it wasn't just because it was dark, it was because it was silent. It irked her slightly to know that she was disrupting this silence. However, she knew it had to be done; she didn't want her emotions to get the best of her like they had Robin. Then her thoughts unwillingly drifted to the Boy Wonder. He had apologized to her, but she still lied to him. She wanted to tell him the truth desperately, but knew what the consequences would be. But was it worth lying if Red-X keeps stalking her? _Maybe if I just told Robin, then we could figure it out together, maybe he wouldn't become so obsessed like he tends to do when he's defeated._ She thought to herself. She opened her eyes and glanced out onto the moon lit waters of the Jump City Bay. _I'm going to tell him, he has a right to know, I mean, he did design the costume, it's rightfully his. _She decided.

After about a half hour of meditating, she decided that she could no longer push the thoughts of Red-X from her mind. So she decided that she would go and make herself some tea and perhaps entrance her mind in one of her thousand books. She made a quick stop to her room to grab one of her Edgar Allan Poe books and resumed her walk to the kitchen. She arrived quickly and as the doors swooshed open, her breath caught in her throat. _Robin!_ She stood there looking at him for a few moments. He sat on one of the bar stools, looking out the window. His appearance gave off the impression that he had hit rock bottom, but Raven knew that it was only because he was sleeping earlier. He looked tired enough to fall asleep right there, and his hair reminded Raven of a character from one of her numerous horror novels, but she chose to ignore his appearance, after all she was sure that she looked similar to him.

"R-Robin," She started, making Robin snap his head towards her. "I need to tell you something…" Where should she begin!

END OF CHAPTER 8!

Ok so I know that it's a little short..but I thought that it would be a good place to end it, so there! If you don't like it, you can go fudge yourself, lol just messin, I love chef from south park so yeah, that's him saying it not me! Oh and if you want this to be Rae/Redx/Rob just tell me, if I get enough people I shall grant your requests! Thanks for reviewing!


	9. Breakdown

Hey everyone, I have some reviewer thanks and some explanations for a certain reviewer who semi-flamed me. To start off.. the reviewer thanks…

Simmie: Well you're the first person to actually respond to my rae/rob/redx question since I updated so thanks! I think I am gonna make it rae/rob/redx but its more of inward jealously for robin, like he doesn't want to admit that he has a thing for raven, what do you think? Thanks for the reviews!

Nyx-Night Goddess: Well, I haven't exactly decided how Robin will react in this chapter, then again I haven't written it yet, but I think im gonna see where the writing takes me, but I think im gonna make it so he becomes uber obsessed like he did with Slade! But I don't know yet!

NerdSavvy: Thanks Im glad I could make it so ur on the edge of your seat!

Kie: I know, I'm trying to update once a week now, but I started updating again after a year lol…I felt so bad for not continuing that I made it my life goal now to finish this!

Hitaruchan: I don't think that im gonna make red X be robin though, I want Raven to meet some random person like at one of her poetry cafes and have that be red x, but have raven not know it, and that person is sectretly like obsessed with her or something..yeah just predictions tho..

Delirium24: Omg trinity! Hey, yeah I finally updated after like a year! I know all my old reviewers left, probably aren't even updating themselves, but you came back! How are al your fics going!

Now for the semi-flamer…..: ok maybe you don't realize what kind of website your on, it's called FAN FICTION…as in stories that are made up by fans.. Part of making up a story on is that the author can make up a plot that is completely separate from the tvshow storyline, authors here are supposed to be free to create what ever kind of story that they want to with what ever kind of pairings they want to. And why don't you try looking at the date that my fic was created, 7-19-05, as in 2005, as in last year, before the teen titans movie was out… I can't just change my fic according to whats happening in the series right now, it wouldn't make any sense, so how about you try to respect other people opinions before you try to flame someone next time!

Wow I can't believe that I didn't say a single cuss word! Im so proud of myself! Ok so now that I got that off my chest on with the chapter…

Chapter 9: Breakdown

"Raven, I have something to tell you too." Robin murmured, as Raven focused her hearing on his voice. She raised an eyebrow in shock.

"Really? Well you go first." Raven replied, always having proper manners in a conversation.

"I couldn't get back to sleep after the alarms went off," He turned and glanced out the window, "So I went down to the security room to check if something was wrong…I saw something…" He trailed off.

"What?" She couldn't think about what he could possibly have seen.

"…someone I thought was gone." Raven's eyes widened in realization. "Raven, Red X is back, I saw him on the video footage outside the tower." He finished

"No," She said, half pretending to be shocked.

Robin bolted up from his seat. "Raven, he was outside your room!" He said his voice steadily growing louder.

Raven couldn't take it, he had to know, and she had to tell him. "I-I know." She whispered turning her head, to ashamed to look at him.

Now it was Robin's turn to raise and eyebrow in shock. "What!" He turned to her. He instantly knew that she was serious, after all it wasn't like Raven to joke around.

"I know." She repeated even quieter.

"YOU KNEW!" He shouted walking up to her, their faces only inches apart. Her eyes rose to meet his masked ones for a split second, and then lowered to the ground

"I've known for a while Robin, I was going to tell you, we all were, but..." She was cut off.

"Wait all of you knew about this!" He questioned, his anger rising in him.

Raven knew she had said the wrong thing, she didn't want to drag the other titans into this, but it was a little too late now. "R-Robin, "She tried to explain, but there were no words that could come to her mind. She had messed up and now she would suffer the consequences. But could the consequences be so horrible that she might lose a friend forever?

"Why didn't you tell me! Red X is a dangerous criminal, he won't be taken down easily!"

"Robin, I know…"

"Then why did you go behind my back, why would all of you lie to me!" He asked, with a hurt tone in his voice.

Raven had fought back way too many emotions, wriggling their way out of the barrier in her mind. She needed to stay calm but it was getting harder and harder to control herself. The shame, disappointment, and anger was building and building. "We knew that you would become different! You would hunt him down and become obsessed with him just like you did with Slade!" She shouted louder than she ever had before. She shut her eyes as tears leaked out, her emotions had broken completely through her blockade. Her eyes erupted in a blood red as she opened them once again. Several items around the room were taken over by dark black matter and rose in the air. One by one they each exploded.

"Raven!" Robin yelled, whipping his head in every direction to avoid the flying furniture.

She faintly heard his voice but all physical things in the room disappeared as Raven's vision became a vast desert of darkness, no living thing remained in this desert. Her hands gripped her head fiercely as she begged her mind to regain control. She shut her eyes tight and strained to rebuild the barrier in her mind. Slowly but surely the room, complete with now blown up and shattered furniture came back to her. She felt someone grab her by her shoulders. She looked up to see Robin, concern and fear apparent on his face.

"Are you okay!" Equal concern in his voice.

She struggled out of his grip and stumbled backwards, still grasping her head which had now began to erupt in a pounding head ache. "I'm so sorry Robin." She managed to struggle out before she ran out of the room, catching herself as she tripped along the way.

Robin could only look on as a spiraled spring from the torn couch jumped out from the wooden frame. It was the only sound from the room as Robin only felt one solid emotion, Guilt.

END OF CHAPTER 9

Ok so I wasn't originally going to have Raven's powers go psycho on her..but I couldn't stop writing it! Lol I hope all of you like it! I know Raven comes off a lil weak in this chapter, but I was thinking about a good FIGHT SCENE between Raven and Red x to ensue next! It wouldn't be chapter 10 but probably 11! If you like the idea review and let me know! Thanks for reading!


	10. Leaving

Chapter 10: Leaving

Her mind, her thoughts, everything was a swirling torrent of pain. Unmistakable guilt for what she had done, heart breaking sorrow for what she had become, and mind-numbing pain for what she saw in her future. Running for what seemed like a million years, her legs, trying to keep up with her thoughts, but failing. What had she done? She had almost used her powers on one of her best friends; she had reached the point of no-return. So naturally she did the only thing that she did best, run. Buildings, streets, people, they all seemed like blurs passing by. She focused on the infinity of the horizon, it kept coming, never stopping, just like the demons that pent themselves up in her mind, only showing themselves when it was most inconvenient for her.

She felt many pairs of eyes on her; she couldn't take their accusing stares. Everyone knew who she was, why should she try and hide it? Everyone knew she was evil, the daughter of the devil himself, and no matter how hard she tried to combat her evil by fighting against it, everyone knew that she was evil, and she could do nothing to sway their decisions on the matter.

Tears escaped from her tired eyes, she couldn't take it any more. She had to make it all go away, she had to stop it.

EARLIER THAT DAY

She ran to her room, still wringing her hands around her aching head. She neither stopped to say hello to a chipper Starfire nor to tell Beastboy off for making another stupid joke. She passed by them both catching the worried looks on their faces as she ran past them. She shut her eyes tight, trying to forget what she had just seen. To Starfire and Beastboy they were worried about her, but to Raven it looked more like looks of pity. She hated pity, she didn't come to this earth and try to protect it's people just to be pitied by everyone.

As she continued to run, she fought harder and harder to rebuild her now smoldering barrier in her mind. She heard the distant explosions of the titan's possessions off in other rooms, which made one emotion in particular want to escape, guilt. She had never meant to pose a threat or harm any of the titans, or their possessions, in any way, this morning she had come close, too close. A thought had come to her overly occupied mind that she had only considered once, and as a result, she was here, on earth. She could leave, leave all her possessions, her friends, and her home behind. Start anew, just like she had done when she left Azarath. However, any further plans of her leaving came to a screeching halt when she walked straight into the wall. She unwound her hands from her head and looked up, surprised that she could be that oblivious as to walk right into a wall. Then she took a second look, it wasn't a wall, it was a body, made of thick, shining metal. Cyborg!

"Raven?" He interrupted her thoughts. She looked up at him, her recently shed tears drying slowly on her face, resembling a clear salty vein on her cheek. "What is it?"

She looked into his deep brown eyes, though Cyborg was the most understanding of her friends, other than Robin, she felt that she couldn't even confide in him anymore, she couldn't confide in anyone anymore. She just needed to get out.

"I'm sorry Cyborg, I just can't." She replied, giving no futher explanation as she resumed the journey to her room. He turned and watched her continue running, a worried expression plastered on his face.

She didn't stop to look back all the way. She just ran, ran all the way to her dark and dreary room. She locked herself away from her friends and plopped down on her comfortable bed. Why had she come in here? She didn't want to take anything with her on her journey to where ever it was that she would end up. As soon has her breath caught up with her, she just sat there in complete, utter, and surprisingly comfortable silence.

_Maybe I'll have at least some time to meditate, before all the titans come at me._ She slowly levitated herself above her bend, and began the slow process of mending her mind. She began to slowly repair the crumbled walls and forced her emotions into them, sealing them up until the next mental breakdown. Maybe she was overreacting, maybe the titans would think nothing of this, just normal Raven. _Normal._ Raven heaved a sigh, that word, how she hated it. _Nothing about you will ever be normal, think about the safety of the titans. It's in the interest of youself and the titans if you left. They would be better without you, they would be safer without you. _Her conscience argued with her. **But I can't just leave them, they need me.** She pleaded with the petite devil on her shoulder. _Go take a look around you. You destroyed the tower, and you practically destroyed one of your own team mates. They don't need you, to them, you are just an extra problem that they don't need to deal with. Saving an entire city on a daily basis is hard enough, they don't need you to deal with as well. Do yourself a favor, and leave now. _

Raven had had enough convicing, and without the smallest sound she planted her feet on her floor stepped over to her window and pushed back the dark slighty-dusty violet curtains that successfully blocked out the unwanted sunlight.

Her eyes unwillingly adjusted to the sudden onslaught of natural light, Raven placed her small pale hand on the window. She glanced out at the sea. She had always been grateful to Robin for giving her a room that faced the ocean. Although she did like the city, the sounds of the ocean always helped calm her, and assisted her exceedingly in her meditation sessions. She glanced out further into the ocean and spotted an oil rig, moving in unison with the small waves of the ocean. She smiled slightly as she thought of the battle with Dr. Light. Then her smile faded as she thought of what had happened in the aftermath of the battle. So many memories, good and bad. Too many. She wanted to leave them all behind, she needed to leave them all behind.

Without another thought Raven's hand upon the window turned a dark shade of black and it phased through the glass, her body following behind it.

END OF CHAPTER 10!

Ok so I know it's a little darker than my other chapters, but hey, I am bipolar, so what did you expect! Lol So yeah, Im going up to my parents ranch this weekend, and there's pretty much nothing to do, so expect a LONG chapter coming up, at least I hope so!


	11. Conversations

Okay I'm at my parents ranch right now! But unfortunately I have some bad news… earlier today I did some exploring and while doing so I kinda fell down this hill…yeah, laugh all you want, but I messed up my wrist really bad in a way where it hurts to type, so the jokes on you, because I don't know how long I can type for..That and I only have 2 hours of my laptop battery left..so yeah, I'll try to type as much and as fast as I can!!!

Chapter 11: Conversations

"Yo, Raven! Are you in there?" A jarring knock came from the door of Raven's room, followed by the voice. "Look I just want to make sure that you're okay, that's it." Cyborg waited for a response, footsteps, anything to signify that Raven was all right. All he heard was bitter unforgiving silence, "Come on Rae, you don't have to open the door just say something, anything." He finished, pressing his right ear to her door. He winced a bit from its coldness, but endured the slight ache from it as he pressed harder into the frigid metal of her door. The completely and utter silence he heard shocked him slightly. Raven was usually a quiet person, but even with his excellent hearing he would at least be able to hear her breath.Now he couldn't even hear that. His eyes widened a bit as a horrifying idea came to his mind. _No she would never do that!_ He thought as he wedged her door open and peeked one half of his face inside her room. At first everything looked normal, however, when his gazed shifted to the window, his brow raised in surprise. _Raven's curtains? Open? No way._ He cautiously took one step inside, fully remembering what happened last time he went in Raven's room without permission. He continued to search her intricate room of anything that seemed out of place or different, everything in her room seemed the same. Well from the last time he came in here, but it was not like Raven to redecorate.

Although Cyborg was convinced that Raven was not here, something felt like she was. And suddenly a wave of panic came over him, like something was wrong with his friend. Something was not right, and he could feel it. The way she's been acting since Red-X, how she looked when he passed her in the hall way.

He quietly exited her room, and walked calmly and coolly down into the tower's main room. Cyborg stood in front of the automatic doors and as soon as he put his weight on the trigger, the two doors separated to reveal a disaster. To Cyborg, it looked as if a tornado hit the tower. The main room was usually messy from Beast boy, but… torn pillows, ripped, sofas, broken mirrors; this was not like Beast boy. He spotted his team mates quietly talking near one of the damage ridden couches. He waltzed over to them, momentarily forgetting about finding Raven.

"What happened here?" Cyborg asked, thinking it was merely a villain targeting the tower, again. The strange glances he got from all three of his friends confused him immensely.

Robin finally spoke after what appeared to be mental preparation. "Raven." He replied, giving no other explanation.

"What? What happened?" He asked again, thinking back to the time before he entered her forbidden mirror, when she had lost control of her powers.

"Not sure." Robin said, appearing to be pondering the question himself. "I-it might have been something I said." He quietly replied in shame. "She told me everything."

"Robin?" Starfire questioned, in her own way of asking him what he meant.

Robin turned to Starfire. "She told me about Red-X." He received three surprised looks from his team mates.

"Man, we would've told you, but we didn't want you to take it the wrong way, you know, like you did with Slade." Cyborg explained, trying to find a reason for their actions.

Robin held up a gloved hand, silencing him. "It's okay, right now we have to find Raven. All three shook their heads in agreement.

WITH RAVEN

After commencing over the bay Raven decided that it would be better to walk, than to fly. She knew the titans would come looking for her and it was better to hide amongst other Jump City civilians than be spotted in the air.

She landed gracefully on the beach, reminiscing in the time a few nights ago, when she sat on the moon lit beach, drinking in the calm darkness. Starfire had attempted to comfort her, and although she was mad at her then, she knew that Starfire had only her best interests in mind. Starfire always put her other friends before herself, that's what made her such a good friend. That's what made them all such good friends. Cyborg had tried to understand her when everyone else thought she was "creepy." Beast boy had always tried to make her laugh and bring joy to every dark situation. Robin, she had always know that he knew her the best. Although he didn't play the part, she knew that he was dark, just like her. Something in his past had changed him. Changed him to be like her. They both could try and fight crime and do good things all they wanted, but nothing could changed their histories, they're pasts shrouded in dark mystery.

Raven thought more on the subject as she walked slowly past alleys, busy streets, restaurants and other friendly shops. They are more a like than she ever realized. She finally thought that she had someone that truly understood her and her darkness. But as these hopeful thoughts crossed her mind, so did the fact that she would most likely never talk with him again. She was, after all, running away to start a new life.

She decided to momentarily attempt to think about something else. Where would she go? She could go to Steele City, the titan's east were nice. Although she hadn't thought bumblebee was the easiest person to get along with, Speedy was too self-obsessed, and she didn't even know how to speak to mas y menos, Aqualad had seemed like a nice person though. Though she barely new him. But she couldn't go to another teen titan's group. For the moment she was done with the teen titan's and all its affiliations. Maybe Gotham City, it was a bigger city, the titan's would most likely lose track of her in there. _Speaking of losing track._ She thought as she glanced downward at her red pendant keeping her cloak together. She removed it slowly, finding a discarded, slightly bent paperclip to string around it instead. She pulled out her communicator and calmly walked over to a nearby alley. She took one last look at her communicator and tracker before letting them slip from her hand and fall into a half full trash can.

"Hmm, what's this, a lost titan?" A recognizable voice boomed from behind her.

WITH THE TITANS

"Okay team, I have a location on her tracking device." Robin replied through his communicator. He rode along on his R-cycle as Starfire took to the skies and Beast boy and Cyborg drove his T-car. "I'm sending her coordinates." He added, with shear determination on his face.

WITH RAVEN

"Red-X." Raven said aloud, announcing his presence.

"In the flesh." He laughed.

"I am no longer a titan, so I no longer am obligated to fight you." She said, in the most serious tone that she had ever heard herself speak with. Without another word, she turned slowly and phased through a building, leaving a stunned Red-X in her wake.

WITH THE TITANS

The titans arrived nearly all at the same time to the designated coordinates.

"A dark scary alley, huh, typical." Beastboy said shakily, never getting over his fear of the dark since he saw Wicked Scary. Having said that Beastboy got into his fighter stance as did Robin. Starfire brought two starbolts to each hand, while Cyborg readied his sonic cannon.

A small crash made everyone jump. Each titan spun around to face the sound erupting from the darkest section of the deserted alley. The titans slowly crept up to the location, Cyborg, turning on the light attached to his shoulder. The sound seemed to be radiating from inside an rusty old trash can. Robin stretched his hand out, wrapping it securely around the lid. Each titan readied themselves as Robin quickly whipped the lid from the trash can, throwing it across the other wall of the alley. They all screamed in anticipation, but were all cut off from the meow of an alley cat, searching for his next meal in the garbage.

"Whew." They all heaved a sigh of relief, each turning red and chuckling a bit in embarrassment.

Any other explanations were cut off as a computer altered laugh boomed through the alley. The titans turned to the origin of the sound to see their real enemy.

"Red-X." Robin exclaimed in pure disgust.

"In the flesh." Red-X repeated, still stunned about his earlier meeting with the dark sorceress.

"What did you do to Raven?" Robin asked, pointing an accusing finger at X.

"Nothing." He said honestly.

"You will tell us where our friend is, NOW!" Starfire yelled, letting rage and the sorrow of losing her friend over take her. She took a few moments to aim, and hurled a florescent green starbolt directly at X.

He barely dodged the death ball, only accomplishing this by jumping from his perch on a large metal dumpster adjacent the titans.

"Tell us where she is, man, and we won't have to hurt you!" Cyborg demanded, firing up his sonic cannon.

"As if you could…" X replied as Beastboy charged at him in the form of a rhino from behind. X quickly back flipped over him, landing gracefully. X steadied himself, but was only knocked off his feet by a swift kick to the shoulder. Robin pulled out his bo staff and used it to hold X down as he climbed on top of him, also using his body weight to subdue him. X attempted to retaliate, but only managed to stop the bar from pressing down on his neck.

"Where...is...she!!" Robin strained, noticing X was a lot stronger than he looked.

"I...told…you." X replied, also straining under Robin's weight. "I don't know." He released the bar and it came sailing horizontally towards his neck, but before the staff could reach its target, X vanished into thin air. Robin lost his balanced from the lack of weight under his body and stumbled a bit, but managed to catch himself on one hand.

"We have to find her." Robin said, lowering his head in anger and returning guilt.

WITH RAVEN

A nearby box exploded, spilling its contents all over the old warehouse. _What did he want?! Can't he see that I'm in the worst place that I've been since I came to earth?! Of course not! Red-X has no emotions! He doesn't care about anyone but himself._ She was brought out of her thoughts as more crates erupted in a black force field before exploding into oblivion. _Stop Raven; just don't worry about it, he's not your problem, no one in Jump City is anymore._ She stopped over by a few boxes, nestled herself in-between them, and sat in a graceful lotus position, levitating herself a few feet into the air. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She chanted calmly as thoughts of Red-X and the titans disappeared and were replaced with peace and calmness.

"Your friends are looking for you." A voice interrupted, startling her so much so, that a crate exploded near the origin of the voice. She opened her eyes to see X again, flinching away from the explosion. "Didn't mean to scare you." He said, amusingly as he recovered quickly from the exploding crate.

"You don't scare me." She said not bother to leave her meditation stance. _Wait did he just apologize to me?_ She eyed him suspiciously, internally questioning his motives. "What do you want?" She asked, more of an inquiry than a demand.

"To tell you your friends are looking for you." He replied, but they both new it was more than that.

"Ok." She said, with no emotion what so ever. She left little lee way to let X know what she was really thinking. There was a dead silence that last for several minutes, each eyeing each other movements. Neither were sure if the other was going to attack or not, but both were prepared if either did. After a few more minutes Raven finally gave in, _maybe if I say something, he'll leave._ "Well if you must know, I'm not going back to them." She announced, in a somewhat holier-than-thou tone. "Ever." She added.

"Oh?" X replied, giving a tell-me-more opening. He broke out of his fighter stance and sat upon one of the still intact crates, his eyes never leaving Raven.

Slightly annoyed that X made it clear that he wasn't leaving, she thought gingerly on what ought to be her reply. She glared at him "Yes." She confirmed, closing the conversation as she left her lotus position and turned to leave and find some other quiet place to resume her meditation. She only got a few yards before Red-X jumped in front of her, crossing his arms defiantly, telling her he wasn't going to leave without an explanation. Raven copied X and crossed her arms. "What?" She spat, extremely annoyed.

"Why?" He inquired, for once looking into her eyes and not at her body. Although his eyes and face were masked she could sense that he was looking directly into her eyes.

"None of your business." She replied, walking around him, half expecting him to stop her.

He reappeared in front of her a few steps later. She heaved a huge sigh, looking at him in exhaust. _How long is he going to keep this up! And why does he want to know so badly?!_ "If I tell you will you go away?" She asked, trying to make a deal and have the upper hand. He shook his head once. "Because of Robin, there." She replied vaguely, attempting to walk around him again.

Instead of his usual tactic he just took a step in front of her. She looked at him in disbelief and attempted to step the other way, which he also blocked. "What about him?" He finally spoke, nothing but pure inquiry in his voice.

"I thought you said if I told you you would leave me alone?!" She said, losing patience._ God, he's just like Beastboy!_

"Never trust a thief." He replied, laughing slightly.

_All right I've had enough of this!_ She made up her mind and her body was traced in black, her feet slowly disappeared to the floor, she slowly sank into the ground as if it were quicksand.

Red-X, realizing what she was doing, suddenly grabbed her wrists softly and pulled her back up from the 'quicksand.'

"Let go of me!" Raven screamed, struggling with X. Despite X's soft grip on her wrists, they seemed impenetrable as she continued to try and break free.

He pulled her up even more until their faces were inches apart. She looked at his masked face, where his eyes would normally be for what seemed like hours. She gave one last moment of struggle before she screamed and fell to her knees. X held his grip on her wrist, even as she fell. _I can't cry, I won't cry, not in front of the likes of him!_ She tried to beckon the tears back in her eyes, but they would not meet her demands and they fell soundlessly onto the dirt ridden concrete floor. She opened her eyes as she felt X released her captured wrists and her eyes were met with masked ones. She looked at him in confusion as she rubbed her wrists. "He found out about you." She whispered, barely audible to Red-X. "He didn't know that you still existed, he found out this morning. We argued, and I-I lost control."

Red-X then did the most shocking thing of Raven's evening; she sat beside her, cross legged and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Although Raven should blame him for where she was at the moment, she didn't. Although she should be attacking him right now because they were enemies, she didn't. She surprised even herself by what she did next. She leaned slowly towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. X was equally surprised by what he did next as well. He turned his body and slowly caressed her head and brought it to his chest, wrapping his free arm around her back and latching it onto her shoulder. Raven wept silently and X continued to hold her. For both of them it somehow felt right, to be in each other's embrace. X closed his eyes in masked bliss; it was a long time since he had been this close to anyone.

Their picture perfect moment was interrupted by three surprised gasps. Raven snapped her eyes open, wrenching her head from X's comforting chest. Her eyes turned to saucers as she realized who was watching them.

"Raven?!" Robin uttered.

END OF CHAPTER 11!!!

So what did you all think?! It's safe to say that I am extremely satisfied with this chapter! I love the fluff I added in! Oh and by the way, in case any of you were wondering, my uncle lent my dad his generator, so now our trailer has power!! So I'm going to work on chapter 12 right after this! I hope I get more reviews… Here's what MIGHT happen… if you send me a review of which on you want I'll tally up the votes and select which one most people want..and I might type that up..but since im working on chapter 12 before I post this, I don't know if it will go how you want.. so here are the choices…

Raven will push away from Red-X denying their interaction and run away from the titans and X.

Raven and X will both deny the interaction and Raven will go back with the titans, claiming that X had forced her to go with him.

Raven will go with X leaving the titans in shock!

They all kill eachother off

Well…okay maybe not D, heehee. **So yeah please review, I've gotten over 7,000 hits overall, and not even have half of that in reviews, come on people!! I write for you guys! The least you could do is tell me whether u like it or not!!**


	12. Running

Okay here's chapter 12! If anyone was wondering how long this fic is going to be, I don't exactly know, but I'm trying to drag it out to 20 chapters at least. It'll be my longest running fic eva!! I like the amount of attention this fic is getting compared to my other ones; this is my highest review fic! Oh, and in case any of you love the Rae/Rob pairing to death, like me, I have a fic entitled Feeble Fortitude. Read it if you like, but I sort of abandoned it to work on this one, SORRY! so yes, on with chapter 12!

Chapter 12: Running

"Raven?!" Robin uttered.

"Robin, what are you doing here?" Raven asked, changing the subject as both her and X jumped to their feet.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?! What is he doing here? And what were you two doing?!!" He sent a barrage of questions at her, as he whipped out his birdarang, ready for action.

"We heard you scream, are you not in danger?" Starfire asked, searching up and down Raven's body for injuries.

"I'm fine Starfire, thanks." Raven replied, eager for a change of subject. After Raven spoke there was silence, no one was sure what should be said, and Robin was too angry and surprised to speak.

"Well," Red-X shattered the silence. "I think I ought to be going." He continued as he began to back away slowly.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Robin yelled, jumping at X.

Robin threw a bird-a-rand at high speed, planting it into a beam, inches away from X's head. He turned to look at it a moment before also leaping into action himself. However, his actions were more in defense of himself. It almost seemed like he was trying to escape. Robin would never allow it though. He completely let loose on the thief, punching, kicking, and coming at him with everything he had. X's stolen suit quickly became ripped, torn, and bloodied up as Robin beat the thief into submission.

Raven could do nothing but look on, she was frozen in terror. Robin had never behaved this way, not even with Slade. She had to do something, but what?! It looked as if X wasn't even fighting to begin with. _Why won't he fight?! Robin will kill him if he doesn't do something…or I don't._ She pondered, but was broken from her thoughts by her team mates, or former team mates according to her.

"Robin stop!" Cyborg yelled, but did nothing to physically stop the fight. Starfire look frightened, _how could Robin be so cruel? Even to the Red-X?_ Beastboy stood behind Cyborg, apparently also frightened of Robin's actions. Raven turned back to see Robin pinning X down, punching his face furiously.

She suddenly became enraged. Even though X was a villain they had fought many times before, and even though he had hurt her before, he had just tried to comfort her and be her friend when she had no one. And now he was getting beat up for that! She couldn't, she wouldn't allow it anymore.

"STOP!" She yelled, her eyes turning an eerie white. "Leave him alone." She muttered to Robin, threateningly collecting black energy around her clenched fists.

Robin held back his punch in the air to turn and gaze at a frightening Raven, this was just the opportunity X needed to escape. He roughly shoved Robin off his bruised and battered body and pressed a button on his black belt, allowing him to disappear from this moment forever.

"Why did you do that?!" Robin jumped up, realizing that X got away. He was not sure that he should be arguing with Raven when she was like this, but he couldn't help himself, he didn't have the kind of secure control over his emotions that Raven normally had.

"I could ask you the same thing, he didn't even hurt me!" Raven responded, lower herself to the ground and releasing her powers from her hands. "He didn't do anything, and you still beat him up, aren't you supposed to be a superhero?" She didn't mean to accuse Robin of anything, but it's just how it came out.

"Don't turn this around on me; you were the one who was with him!" Robin yelled back, slightly hurt at what Raven had accused him of.

"I-I..." Raven stumbled over her words. She always knew what to say to him, but this time she had no clue. She turned around to see the other titans, who also had questioning looks on their faces. "I- need to go." She decided to reply and she phased through the floor quickly, turning to see a hurt look on Robin's face before she dropped to the floor below her.

She ran through the floor of what seemed to be a vacant machine shop. She ran quickly knocking down cans of oil and buckets of scrap metal as she went, not bothering to make her presence unknown.

She skidded to a stop when she heard a low toned grunt. She looked around the room trying to figure out where it came from. She heard a loud metal clank and ran over behind an over sized machine, hiding from who she thought were the titans. She poked half of her head in between two slits in the machine, giving her a perfect view of the room. She watched as an unknown figure stumbled to gain his footing. He grasped the wall to support himself, but continued to stumble down the hall. _X!_ Raven thought and before she could think things through, she ran out from her hiding spot and to the injured masked man.

"X!" She exclaimed out loud, getting his attention.

"Hey." He replied, grasping his side, he removed his hand and she saw through the black costume a deep bleeding gash, sucking the life from him.

"Why didn't you fight back?!" She asked him, waiting for a reply that would satisfy her.

"Because, you wouldn't want to see Robin hurt." He said through clenched teeth, telling her the honest truth.

Raven was taken aback, did she hear right? He had taken punches for her? She shook her head; she needed to focus on him right now, not herself. "Here, let me help." She offered softly, watching her hands become surrounded in a soft blue glow. She touched X's wounded body and the cuts healed miraculously, bringing life back into him.

He glanced confused at where his injuries used to be and heaved a sigh of relief. He brought his hands up and took one of hers in his.

She pulled her hand back from his grasp, though she longed to be in his embrace again. "X, we can't, the titans." She explained.

He chuckled slightly as he got to his feet slowly. "Thought you said you left them?" He said back, making Raven think.

_Well I did, but I still feel a connection to them. Why?! They have done nothing but hurt me today. _"I did." She said still thinking about what X had said.

"Go back to them if you want." He offered, turning to leave.

Although some part of her actually wanted to go with X, she knew where she truly belonged, with the titans. They had given her a home when she knew no one from earth. They were her friends, her only friends. She would just explain to them that she was irrational when she first left, because, honestly she was, and Robin would understand.

"But Raven," X paused, but did not turn around. _That's the first time he actually called me by my name._ "Just remember that you don't owe them anything." Having said that, he vanished into the night.

She thought long and hard about his last statement. "But I do." She said aloud, turning to go back to titan's tower and her only friends.

END OF CHAPTER 12!!!!!

Okay so it wasn't as long as chapter 11, but I wasn't planning on having it be that long. I hoped that everyone liked it! REVIEW!! Also, good news! I already have chapter 13 planned out! Hooray!


	13. Back

Wow, I just have to say this, I LOVE all of you guys, thank you so much for reviewing, it means the world to me, it really does. So it's time to tally up the votes!!

6 reviewers voted that Raven should go with X leaving the titans in shock! Lol

1 said that everyone dies, heehee

2 reviewers said that Raven and X should deny the interaction between each other and Raven should go back to the titans…

So… I GUESS RAVEN LEAVING WITH X IS THE WINNER!!! But if I told you I write it that way then the story would lose it's edge and suspense! So alas, you will just have to read it and see if it works out the way that you want it to! Hahahahaha! Im so evil!

Chapter 13: Back

It had been a few hours since the titans had discovered Raven and Red-X. Raven had resumed her walk through the busy streets of jump city. The sky, once a bright cheerful blue, became clouded over. The ominous clouds roared in anger and began to release an onslaught of ceaseless rain and no matter where she went, the rain seemed to follow only her. However, she blocked out all of her physical pains and aches as she concentrated on making a decision for a more important inner struggle.

_I have to go back to them, I owe them everything!_ **They have done nothing but bring you down, just like X said, you don't owe them anything.** The small demon on her shoulder rose once again, acting as her slightly evil voice of reason. _But they saved me! They found me when I was in the worst place I had ever been! I owe them, at least the benefit of the doubt. They came after me because they cared about me. _**You were sure singing a different tune earlier when you first left. **_Shut up, I'm going back and there's nothing you can say to stop me!_ She ended her inner argument, feeling slightly like a crazy person as she levitated herself up in the humid air, sailing in the rain back to her home.

She finally reached the island after what seemed like hours. She took one final breath as she walked into the tower's main room, expecting everyone to be there, waiting to give her the third degree. She felt a warm rush of air as she pulled the doors back. Looking around, she saw no one, strange it was movie night, everyone was usually here.

"They're out." Came a voice from the room. Raven spun around to see Robin, with a somber look on his face.

"Out where?" Raven asked, glad that the other titans were gone.

"They went to rent a movie for movie night." He explained, casually glancing at her body, seeing if she had any injuries. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine, nothing a good meditation session can't fix." She added, signaling that she wanted to leave.

"Well I, that is the titans and I would really like it if you had movie night with us. You always stay in your room, I understand that you need to meditate, but we don't know what wrong with you if you never talk to us." He said on a serious note.

"Robin, there are just somethings that I can't talk about, to anyone." Raven said turning away from him in shame.

Robin walked towards her turned figure and laid a comforting hand upon her shoulder. "Well, I'm still here if you ever need anyone." He added, smiling a bit. "You can go back to your room, but there's a spot for you here on the couch if you're interested." He finished, eyeing the duct taped and stapled couch questioningly.

Raven turned back around, a puzzled expression on her face. "You mean you're going to let me stay, after what I did?" She said surprisingly.

Robin's gaze into her eyes never wavered. "We never stopped being friends Raven. As for X, we'll get to him in the morning."

Raven raise one eyebrow, it wasn't like Robin to put of something as important as this. She was still surprised that they were even having movie night. She nodded at Robin before turning and making her way to her room.

LATER THAT NIGHT!

"Oh friends! We have rented the best movie ever!" Starfire squealed in glee as she ran over and popped the movie into the dvd player.

"Yeah…" Cyborg trailed off, looking slightly down. He couldn't stop thinking about the current situation, even though Robin had tried to get everyone to think about something else. But he couldn't help but think that this was all his fault, Starfire's, Beastboy's, and his faults. They should've been honest with Robin from the start, and Raven was the one who was receiving punishment. And the worst part was that he was the only one who seemed to think it was their faults, not just Raven's. Beastboy and Starfire both seemed to be in a deep denial. Maybe it was because they feared Robin and what the leader of the titans might do if they admitted what they had all done. Cyborg; however seemed to be the only one, besides Raven, that wasn't afraid of Robin. _Raven shouldn't have to take the blame for all this; I should tell Robin, talk to him and tell him that it was all of our ideas._ Cyborg decided, and returned his thoughts back to the present.

He looked up at his friends in a slightly better mood and found that they were all looking at something, something behind him. He turned quickly, eager to see what this something was. _Raven?!_

"Hey," She monotoned, looking slightly embarrassed, "can I join you?" She asked the titans, who were still in awe that she was even standing there.

Robin was the first to snap out of this shock, "uh, sure Raven, have a seat." He motioned to the horribly mangled sofa.

Beastboy, unable to think before he spoke, replied more to himself, "yeah just don't break it this time." But soon realized that his joke was anything but that.

All the titans glared at him and Raven looked away in shame. "Just play the movie." Cyborg said, whacking Beastboy on the head.

"All right dudes, prepare for the scariest movie of your life!" Beastboy exclaimed while pushing play on the remote control. His expression changed from excitement to confusion and disgust as he gazed at the television. "What's this?!" He said confused.

"Um, I thought that we might enjoy a nice romance movie instead." Starfire said quietly, holding up the movie case. It had a couple locked in a passionate kiss and the title read "Kissy Kissy." Starfire received a huge sigh from everyone as they read the title. "Come, must I make some pudding of happiness?" She asked with a smile, heading for the kitchen.

"NO!" The titan's screamed as they forced her to sit back down on the couch.

"Okay, get ready for the most boring movie of your entire lives." Beastboy grumbled, Robin remained emotionless, Starfire bounced up and down with glee, Raven rolled her eyes, and Cyborg folded his arms and sat down deeper into his seat, ready to fall asleep.

By the end of the movie, Raven was pretending to sleep, Robin looked as if he would fall asleep, and Cyborg, Starfire, and Beastboy were bawling loudly, handing each other tissues and comforting touches.

As the movie ended, Robin rushed up to turn on the lights. Cyborg and Beastboy hastily wiped tears from their eyes, not wanting to seem like wusses.

"That was a good movie, yes?" Starfire asked everyone, blowing her nose so loud that the whole tower rattled around them.

"Eh, that was lame!" Beastboy covered, wiping away another tear.

"Yeah." Cyborg agreed, looking around to see if anyone had noticed his façade.

"It was good Star." Robin said, not wanting to hurt Starfire's feelings. "Right Raven?" He asked, trying to get the only remaining titan who hadn't given their opinion to back him up.

"Sure." She replied, rubbing the non-existent sleep from her eyes. "I'm going to meditate." She rose from her seat and began to retreat back to her room.

Stafire followed her, "Raven," She said once the doors had closed and they were alone in the hallway, Raven stopped but did not turn around to face her, "might I have the word with you?" She asked.

"About what Starfire?" Raven asked, slightly annoyed with her, for no apparent reason.

"I was hoping, to your thoughts off of the Red-X that we might go out tomorrow, to the mall?" She asked, waiting for the rejection that she thought was sure to come.

Raven slowly turned around, eyeing Starfire's hopeful smile. "Okay, I guess it could do me some good to get out." She gave in, thinking that it actually wasn't a bad idea. She could go to her favorite poetry café, or maybe her favorite book store in the mall.

"Oh, glorious! I shall return for you tomorrow, I must prepare for our day of excitement!" Starfire said, letting Raven's answer go to her head a little. Before Raven could speak another word, Starfire flew down the hallway in the blink of an eye.

"Great." Raven muttered to herself, beginning to regret her answer.

END OF CHAPTER 13!!

**VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE! PLEASE READ!**

**Ok everyone, I'm really sorry to tell everyone this…most of you don't know, but I have bipolar disorder, it's been really hard to deal lately, let's just say that. So tomorrow, my friend is taking me to the children's hospital and I'm checking myself in. I might not update for a while, I don't know how long I'll be in there for, it could be a few days or it could be a few weeks… I might be able to bring my notebook or even my laptop and write a chapter, but my main focus is to get me better, and although writing does help, I don't know if I will have time, I hope most of you will understand and not be too mad at me! Once I get out I'll work on a super long chapter as an apology…how does that sound? Oh and I hope me updating this chapter will also help!**

**SORRY AGAIN!**

**Fatcat11388**


	14. Fun?

Hey everyone! I'm back and back in action! I got me some meds and now im better than ever! Ok so where were we?...

Chapter 14: Fun?

"Great." Raven muttered to herself, beginning to regret her answer. _What did I just do?_ She heaved a huge sigh and resumed her endless journey back to the safe confines of her room. She finally reached the outer limits of her room. As the door swished open and she immediately felt a wave of dark relief wash over her calm features. She closed her eyes and a small smile tugged at the outer limits of her lips. A poised, elegant smile that no one would ever be good enough to see.

The darkness always calmed her. Though Beast boy may call her weird and creepy, it was a fact that the darkness sometimes seemed like the only relief from her troubled and tiresome life of crime-fighting. Though there were many other things, like meditating and reading, they seemed more like preoccupants. She couldn't bring herself to understand how darkness had gotten such a bad reputation in the eyes of her friends. Perhaps other than Robin, it seemed like the others were, almost afraid of it. She could always see that anxious look in Cyborg's eye, though he may not fess up to it. Beastboy always seemed disgusted by the darkness, for as soon as he entered any room he hastily made for the light switch. And Starfire, she seemed to naïve, though Raven knew she was far from that, to even mention anything even remotely pertaining to the dark shadows that Raven felt so comforted by.

Now Raven, although liking the darkness much more, did not hate the light, Far from it. Light seemed like an acceptable companion for when she was reading and doing many of her other daily tasks. However, the light always seemed like a short-term fix. She would always do the task at hand and then shut off the lights when she finished. The light seemed only capable of being solely at the power of her own hand. She would create the faux light in a room of the titan's tower, then she could easily kill it with the slightest flick of her finger tips. Though there was the natural light from the sun, which Raven also felt comforted by, to an extent, there was just something about the darkness that completely her so sweetly. If only everyone could view things this way.

Raven snapped out of her drawn out thoughts and sat at her ancient-looking vanity. She gazed at herself in the mirror. She saw a tired looking girl that seemed as if she had given-up on feeling all together. This girl in the mirror didn't even resemble Raven, or so she had thought. She sighed as she was drawn back into her thoughts.

She had always wanted to be a normal teenager. Although many teenagers would argue that they weren't normal and that they had problems much like herself, she knew that they would never understand. Although she did find some comfort in the clique known as the 'goth kids,' she knew that although they knew much of her despair, they could never fully understand as well. She even wanted to be one of them, but her powers brought a hinder that even the strongest sorcerer couldn't break. She was unable to feel, and this fact brought about a reality to her that was so harsh and demanding that she could barely stand even being. She was so envious of others, even to the point of doing something about it. However, she knew that not even the darkest, most powerful magic could do anything to fix her. But the other, more outspoken side of her mind had to chime in. Why should she have to fix herself just to please other people? I mean she was from Azarath, she wasn't human. So why should she have to change her personality and interests to be justifiable to a race of people that she didn't belong to in the slightest bit? The answer was, she didn't. She didn't have to change herself just to fit in. This reply, though just recently showing itself in her thoughts, was apparent everyday she kept her calm, dark exterior. She kept her face emotionless and her hobbies quiet and withdrawn because she knew that she didn't need to prove anything to anyone. She saved the citizens of Jump City on a daily basis, and if that wasn't good enough for them, then she didn't know what was. Somehow she still felt a sense of want, however. Just for one day to be one of them. To be just a normal Joe walking down the streets, stopping to buy a newspaper or feeding the birds in the park. Just for one day, she wanted to feel like them, she wanted to feel. But then her motto popped up in her head and ended any other depressing thoughts, 'Just get through this day.'

She rose from her comfortable velvet seat of her old vanity and lay on her bed. She felt a small sense of happiness to finally be included in Starfire's activities she deemed "fun," yet she also felt a sense of dread. Ever since Raven was a child, anytime she did anything that was the essence of fun, something bad and terrible lingered just after the activity was to be completed. Raven closed her eyes tight, blocking the horrible memories of her past, and began to concentrate on her breathing. She felt each smooth breath as it filled her lungs and expanded her chest, and exited, compressing her slender frame once again. Although during her mediation sessions, she always found it easier to concentrate when chanting her mantra, tonight she found it easy to slip into a dream-filled slumber while concentrating on the rising and falling of her own chest.

All seemed quiet in the Titan's Tower. Raven's companions had also induced themselves in a peaceful doze. As the sun slowly rose, the serene rays collided with the warm metal frame of the T shaped tower standing motionlessly in the bay of Jump City. As the placid beams of the sun filed through the windows, warming the innards of the tower it hit a single source of resistance, stemming from a room towards the top of the tower. Raven's thick dark drapes, imprisoned the darkness in her room. Shunning the glimmering rays of the sun away from her compound and urging them to seek another room to fill its warmth with. However, a small leak in the curtains allowed a single strand of light to barge in, whipping itself right across Raven's right eye. She furrowed her brow in anger and opened it slightly to see what was causing her discomfort. She immediately shut it when the relentless gleam of light pierced her slightly blood shot eye.

"Ugh." She groaned, resembling an adolescent requesting his mom to give him five more minutes after rousing him from a deep sleep. She sat up in her bed, her thin blankets falling easily from her upper-body. She turned and glared at the small gap in her curtains that was just destined to be placed exactly so, in order to stir her from her pleasant sleep. She angrily revived her rested legs and stomped over to her curtains, roughly sewing up the gap and hindering the light from entering her dim territory ever again. She took a long breath, attempting to subdue the anger that was rising inside her. It would be foolish to get so worked up over such a small inconvenience, even if it had woken her from a highly valued slumber. She shook her head, and with it, all the negative thoughts that had so easily escaped her barrier.

She walked silently over to her door, exiting her room and heading for her bathroom that Robin had given her for her own use. He was always unsure of what to say whenever Raven asked him why he had given her her own bathroom. He usually said something about her being a girl and quickly changed the subject. She knew the real reason of course, for he had given Starfire her own as well, but she just liked the blush creep on his cheeks and him scrambling for words when he normally always knew the right thing to say. She chuckled internally as she reached the door to her private lavatory. She flicked on the lights, wincing slightly as their cruel, unforgiving rays perforated her eyesight temporarily. She blinked several times to mend her blinded eyes, successfully doing so after about a million winks.

She seized an over-sized, fluffy, white towel, and turned the hot water knob on her shower. She turned the cold water knob slightly less, wanting a hotter shower. As she began to undress she glanced around her wash-white, bleached bathroom. Although she liked the darkness, and decorating her room just so, she always like the bathroom to resemble a sterilized and efficiently sanitized domain that seemed incapable of getting even the slightest bit of mold or mildew. She finished peeling off her leotard and hopped into the scolding heat of the water. She instantly felt calmed and slightly hazy as the water washed away the stains from the previous day.

The steamed escaped from its forced prison as Raven pulled back the glass door, revealing her dripping wet, towel-clad body. She began to dry herself off and squeegee her hair, letting the water leisurely drip down a drenched strand and plummet down towards the fuzzy white rug where it would eventually dry up and die. Raven breathed in the steam, letting the heat clear her senses as she folded the towel to cover her body. She concentrated and teleported to her room, unwilling to let anyone see her so exposed.

She ceased her powers in the middle of her room, letting her towel drop and swiping a clean leotard from her endless supply in her closet. She dressed hurriedly, although knowing that no one was there, she was always paranoid about exposing her body, even when she was alone. Although she did wear a revealing costume, it still somehow felt wrong to her. She pulled the fresh leotard over her chest and pulled her arms through the sleeves, completing the task by zipping the back up to her neck. She pulled on her boots and spied her cloak, that must have unfastened itself somehow deep within her REM cycle. Though she doesn't usually wear it when she sleeps, she had forgotten to remove it the night before, which she doesn't often to either.

She breathed and closed her eyes once, admiring the darkness which plagued her room one last time before the unbeknownst events of her day were about to unfold.

She walked out of her room, slightly annoyed how the change of atmosphere from the hall to her room could be so shocking. She walked down the empty, undecorated corridor, making plans to decorate the hallway that she would never follow through with.

Her soft footsteps eventually brought her to the tower's main room, where most of the action would go on for the day, for Robin Beast boy and Cyborg at least. The thought of Starfire and her going out today, still afflicted her mind. Though she might have a good time, it was most certain than not that she would not enjoy herself even the slightest. With Starfire it was always the happy, everyone-loves-me stores, which made Raven feel slightly nauseated. It never ceased to amaze her how different her and Starfire really were. Yet they could still be close friends, which made the unsettling feeling of their differences slightly less.

Raven made for her usual routine of heating a pot of water to steep her herbal tea in, but she stopped. _Maybe I should actually eat something; I mean I do have more patience on a full stomach._ She thought gingerly as the spot in the cupboard where her mug and box of tea bags normally stood were filled once again with the items. She walked over to the refrigerator, where, normally fungus was growing, ready to take over the entire tower. However, Starfire and Robin's recent trip to the grocery store and Beastboy's recent loss to a bet in where he must clean out the kitchen if lost left the refrigerator sparkling clean and fully stocked. Raven pilfered an apple, a slice of bread and some strawberry flavored jam. She mechanically made her toast and inhaled the meal quickly, forgetting how hungry she actually was.

She was busy doing her dishes, disinclined to leave her dirty dishes the only ones present in the sink, when she was interrupted by a loud, irritating voice.

"Hello friend!" Starfire exclaimed joyously.

Raven merely nodded, neither turning to acknowledge her, nor reply to her merry greeting.

"Are you not thrilled for our trip to 'the mall of shopping' today?!" Starfire asked, unsure of her choice of words. Although she knew English to a "t," her many years spent on her home planet of Tamaran had left her with little knowledge of the "earth culture."

"Yeah, thrilled." Raven replied, hiding her sarcasm, though she knew Starfire would not pick it up anyways.

"Oh glorious! Shall we proceed then?" She responded, more of a demand than a request as she took hold of Raven forearm and practically drug her out of the tower and into the city.

"What about the others?" Raven asked, out of breath from struggling to break free from Starfire's vice grip.

"I have already informed them, they would like to meet us for lunch later." Starfire said, unaware that Raven was attempting to disentangle herself from her strong hold.

They arrived a few minutes later at the huge mall. Many people were taking advantage of the beautiful day and out and about with their friends and family. A few people looked up in the sky at the flying heroes, some pointing and awing and a few others showing their children and having them wave and smile. Raven looked away in embarrassment; she didn't like to be looked at in that way. She didn't like to be considered different, though she had to face facts that she indeed was far different from them.

They landed softly near the outskirts of the malls entrance. Starfire released her clench on Raven; she in turn flexed her wrist and fingers, trying to get a small amount of feeling back in her arm.

"Oh, where shall we go first friend Raven?!" Starfire gasped, jumping up and down in excitement.

"How about the book store?" Raven offered, just to see what Starfire's reply would be.

She had an expression on her face that showed amusement, as if Raven was joking, but then it turned serious and showed of extreme discomfort. "Oh, well, yes, yes I agree friend, off to the store of books!" She answered, placing her cheerful expression on her exterior. And off they went, however to not attract too much attention they walked instead of flew, although they still did get some amazed stares.

They entered the store that reeked of old dried parchment and dust. Raven inhaled the familiar scent gladly, while Starfire crinkled her nose in disgust. Raven turned to Starfire, not sure where she should go next. She knew that Starfire's point in planning this outing was for them to have fun together, to find some activity they had in common. She debated on whether she should help Starfire, who also stood in uncomfortable silence, or walk off to her favorite section of the store. She sighed, letting her conscience get the best of her.

"So what do you like to read?" Raven asked, actually interested in her answer. This might actually be the time where Raven can learn more about her alien comrade.

"Um, I am not certain, I don't own many earth books." Starfire responded, receiving a weird look from the cashier running the store.

"Well let's see..." Raven said aloud, trying to think of the categories she might have interest in. "We could try psychology." Raven said, leading Starfire over to the thick shelves teaming with books of every sort.

Starfire picked up a random one and opened it up, eyes scanning across the pages. "Raven, what is a Sigmund Freud?" She asked, extremely puzzled by the book.

"Ok maybe not psychology." Raven decided, taking the book and replacing it on the shelf. "How about fantasy." She thought aloud, walking to the other side of the small store.

Starfire selected a book and began reading it. Raven raised an eyebrow, for it seemed that Starfire was interested in it so far. A few minutes later, Starfire looked up confused as before.

"Friend, what is a unicorn? Is this a creature on this planet that I have not heard of before?" She asked.

Raven merely sighed and took the book from Starfire and put it back on the shelf as well. "Well we could try graphic novels." Raven suggested, trying to be patient, but slowly realizing that it was going to be tremendously hard to find something in common with the alien girl. Raven lead her over to the graphic novels section and picked up a manga and handed it to her.

"This book has pictures in it!" Starfire said, excitedly.

"Mmhmm." Raven said, rubbing her temples as she felt a headache coming one.

Suddenly Starfire's bell-like laughter rang through out the entire store. "This girl, Kagome, tells this dog boy to sit! And he must do it because of the necklace he wears!" She shook with laughter flipping through the pages with excitement.

"Well, I think we found the section for you." Raven said in amusement, walking to her own favorite section, the horror novels, and leaving Starfire to read every single graphic novel that the book store owned.

Raven smiled slightly, knowing that Starfire and her bond just grew immensely. She couldn't believe it. Her and Starfire. Starfire seemed too cheery and peppy to have any interest in books, yet she never ceased to amaze her, as she had thought earlier.

Raven was broken out of her pleasant thoughts when a book seemed to fly out right out from the shelf it was stationed on and dropped down by her feet, showing the black type on its beige, slightly ruffled pages. Raven looked down at the book and looked around warily. She heard Starfire's laugh ring out again, knowing that it wasn't her trying to play a joke on her, not that she would even dare. Raven resumed her walk to her section, yet vigilant as ever. She picked out what seemed to be a good read and began to flip through the pages in apparent interest. All the while she was focusing her hearing on anything she could pick up in her general vicinity. She heard the drumming of the cashier's fingers on the counter in boredom, Starfire's laughter, a child crying for his mother outside of the store, but nothing else seemed to tip her off into thinking that someone else was there. Although she had thought it was impossible to think that the book had fallen by itself, it seemed to be glued into the shelf with the other books, she decided that she ought to give it the benefit of the doubt and ignore her troubling thoughts that perhaps Red-X was on the prowl again.

She read a few more pages from the book she had and decided that it would be a 'buyer.' She turned back to where she had just come from, ready to get Starfire, pay for their things, and leave, when she noticed something. The book she had left lying open on the floor was back on the shelf, however it was only half on and was teetering on the edge, ready to plummet to the ground once again. _I didn't touch that book._ Raven thought, staring at the swaying book. Before it could fall she reached out and pushed it all the way in, perfecting the jam-packed shelf of books once again. She breathed in annoyance, but decided that it was just best to leave this haunted store before more weird stuff began to plague her. Raven dragged Starfire away from her section, carrying about 20 graphic novels in her hand, intent on buying all of them. Raven paid for her horror novel first, not attempting politeness on the plainly jaded cashier. Who would not want to work here? Being surrounded by the best literature in the world. It was beyond her.

Starfire then pushed all her 20 graphic novels onto the counter. "How much, good sir?" She asked, pulling out a huge wad of cash from her left boot.

"For you it's a discount." He smiled and leaned over the counter a little closer to Starfire. Raven rolled her eyes and scowled, loud enough for them both to hear.

"Oh, why thank you." She replied, flashing her 100- watt smile and handed him a 50 dollar bill. He shoved Starfire's novels into a huge bag and handed it to her, purposely clasping onto the bag just long enough to slightly graze her hand. Raven saw this and scowled even louder.

"So I don't see many girls in here." He started, flirty with the oblivious Starfire.

Raven stared at the sight in disbelief. She was in this bookstore almost everyday, and while she occasionally chatted with a few of his other co workers, she had despised this pathetic excuse for a man since the day he had become employed there. The only time she went out was either to her poetry café, or here. She often saw many other women frequent the shop as well, a few of them even seemed nice enough that she had gotten to know them. _I think what he meant to say was there weren't many beautiful girls that come here._ She thought, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the 40 year old man, attempting to flirt with a girl who had just recently entered her womanhood. Raven had had enough of this jerk, and was determined to do something about it.

"Starfire, come on, let's go." She chose to say, as she took hold of Starfire's arm and pulled lightly.

"Thank you." She managed to say before Raven dragged her completely out of the store.

Raven took one last look to see the man giving her a death defying glare, which she returned with delight. "Ok, so what's next?" She couldn't believe what she was saying. Starfire would either pick Claire's or Forever 21, she knew her well enough to know this.

"Well, I was thinking Claire's," She looked at Raven's face, and could plainly see discomfort, "but you would not want to accompany me there."

Raven was thankful for the ending Starfire had put on, but she just felt plain guilty. Starfire had gone into the book store with her, even though Raven could easily see that she had not wanted to. _I'm sure I can last 20 minutes in a girly store._ She decided. "No, it's okay, we can go there, I don't mind."

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, barely containing her enthusiasm as the escalator slowly ascended.

As soon as they entered the store Raven's eyesight was blinded by cute plush animals, heart shaped jewelry, and an overall tone of her least favorite color, pink. Raven looked interested in the necklace section to please Starfire as she rushed about, taking in every pink toned heart.

Raven glanced over the selection of hair accessories. She eyed a package of scrunchies, completely displaying the rainbow spectrum. She swallowed hard to keep her breakfast down. She then moved onto the hair ties that came with faux blonde hair attachments. She looked over them in amazement, thinking of how she would look with her violet hair up in a pony tail, with a waterfall of blonde entangled within it. She shook the disturbing image from her mind, smiling ever so slightly.

Raven was suddenly interrupted by a calmed Starfire. Raven eyed her warily, her posture seem to resemble someone who was discomforted. Starfire had her hands behind her back and eyed the ground, toeing at the pink and purple tiles. "Um, Raven?" She said looking into her eyes, but then looking away a few seconds later.

"Yes?" Raven asked, completely weirded out by Starfire's strange withdrawn behavior.

"Well, I have been on this planet for some time now. I have seen many people become close friends. They call it the best friends. And, well I was wondering, if maybe…" She trailed off, revealing her hands and the tiny charm bracelet she held in them. Raven immediately recognized it as a 'Best friends bracelet.' "Maybe, perhaps we could be the best friends?"

Raven eyed the bracelet. She had never been asked such a serious question, especially by Starfire. She had always thought that Starfire had no interest in her and only been nice because they were team mates. _I guess I was wrong._ She thought as her vision became slightly blurry. She blinked several times, showing her emotions could be especially lethal here. Raven slowly reached out and took the bracelet from Starfire's hands. It was a heart, broken into two pieces, one half of the heart for each of them. Raven eyes glanced across the completed heart and it read "Best Friends Forever." She leisurely ran her fingers over the heart and unfastened one of the bracelets from the packaging. She secured the metal clasp around her wrist. "Sure Starfire, I'd love to." She could see Starfire present the biggest, happiest smile that Raven had ever seen her demonstrate. She flew into Raven, enveloping her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Glorious." Was all she could say.

"Um, but one thing Starfire." Raven said in-between gasps for air.

"Yes?"

"No hugs." Raven breathed her last bit of air.

"Oh, yes." Starfire released her immediately, blushing enormously. She giggled and rushed off to go pay for the bracelet. Leaving Raven in her thoughts.

Raven brought up her arm so the bracelet dangled in front of her line of sight. It jingled slightly from the movement and Raven could see a blurry reflection of herself in the shinny metal. Though she could not be certain, she thought she saw the tired reflection of the girl she had seen in the mirror previously this morning change into a content, less sorrowful girl. She slowly let a smile creep on her lips, not making any attempt to hide it from the rest of the world. She brought her arm down and watched as Starfire approached her, clasping her half of the bracelet onto her wrist as Raven had done. She saw Raven's smile and grinned back.

They left the store that Raven no longer felt uncomfortable in. The duo went to a few more stores. Hot Topic, where Starfire and Raven tried on the Halloween costumes. Forever 21, where Starfire modeled some clothes and tried to get Raven to try some as well. And the Body Shop, where they both equally found interest and picked up bottles of herb scented lotions and fragrant body spray.

"Hey there you guys are!" They were finally interrupted by a frazzled looking Beastboy. "We've been looking all over for you!" He pulled out his communicator and called Cyborg and Robin. "You were supposed to meet us for lunch, remember?"

Starfire and Raven looked at each other. "Sorry, guess we got carried away." Raven monotoned, Starfire giggling in her hand behind her.

"Well, come on then." Beastboy replied, apparently to lazy to demand a certifiable answer.

Both the girls drew up their many bags and followed Beastboy to the Pizza Shop, where the other two team members were supposedly waiting. Though the girls had many bags, they both knew that they now had something that money could never buy.

"Finally! I'm Starving!" Cyborg exclaimed as soon as he saw Beastboy with Starfire and Raven lagging behind him.

"Why did not you just consume the pizza with out us?" Starfire asked, sitting down next to Robin and sitting her bags in such a way that they would stay up, while leaning against the leg of the table.

"Robin made us wait." Cyborg said, glaring at Robin.

"Hey, it was a team outing, so I thought we should all be here." Robin defending himself, raising his hands in protest.

"Well, we're all here now, so let's eat." Raven said, feeling her stomach empty once again.

The team consumed their fill, which consisted of 9 pizzas. Three vegetarian specials, four meat specials, one mustard, peppermint, and anchovy, and one half cheese half pepperoni which Robin and Raven ate.

While Starfire was acting as the referee in the eating contest between Cyborg and Beastboy, Raven and Robin sat quietly watching the spectacular event. As Raven finished her first slice she made a grab for the last one. Her hand collided with a gloved one as they both dueled for the last slice of their pizza.

"Oh sorry, you go ahead and have it." Robin said, withdrawing his hand.

"No no, it's ok, you go ahead." Raven replied withdrawing her hand as well.

"No really, you wanted it first." Robin said, determined to try extra hard to be nice to her.

"Here dudes, I can fix this." Beastboy interrupted. With a face like a vacuum he inhaled the last slice of pizza, leaving one empty pan and two angry glares. "What? I said I could fix it!" He said as he resumed ingesting his own veggie pizza.

"Friends, do you desire a slice of mine?" Starfire interjected, waving a slice of what looked like a piece of mutilated, year old pizza in their faces.

"Uh, no that's okay Starfire." Robin replied as Raven fanned the air around her, attempting to keep her already eaten pizza down.

"Very well." She said, swallowing the slice in her hand in one bite. A wave of nausea descended upon Raven and Robin merely furrowed his nose in disgust.

Raven sat in her seat, taking in everything. The beautiful day, the cheerful people around her, her friends. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. And despite the earlier nagging feeling of not wanting to go out with Starfire, well, it had vanished, just like the empty position needed of someone to be her best friend. She felt happy and content watching Beastboy cry over losing yet another bet while Cyborg rubbed it in his face. She felt jovial while surveying Starfire finishing her last slice of repulsive pizza. She felt at peace with the unsettling feeling of how to act around Robin. She felt all her dismal feelings evanescence into her mind-built barrier, where she hoped that they would never escape again.

As the titan's finished up their meal they all decided to catch a flick. It would help burn up what was left of their beautiful day. They all decided to let Beastboy pick the movie, since he would get so worked up if anyone else even remotely opposed his ideas. He picked a horror film, which suited Raven just fine, but sparked a nervous anxiety in the rest. As the motion picture commenced Raven could not concentrate on the movie. Though it was visually thrilling and suspenseful enough to suit her well, she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. This feeling followed her through out the movie and the trip home, where she soon found out that her feeling was justified.

"Someone broke into the tower!" Cyborg exclaimed angrily in disbelief. "How! I have every high tech security measurement on the market, and a few that aren't!"

"Titan's split up, search the tower." Robin barked the order, and everyone was off to their rooms, starting in the place they thought was most valuable to them.

Raven teleported up to her room in a panic. _Just when everything was going so right!_ She thought, her dark thoughts beginning to over take her once more. She found her door to be ripped from its hinges, yet everything seemed to be in place. She gazed over her room warily and vigilant, ready for the villain to shoot out from behind her curtains. As her eyes continue to gaze around her dwelling she found one thing to be out of place. A single red rose laying on her vanity.

END OF CHAPTER 14!!

Oh wow..i wrote this in about 4 hours! I was so happy to finally be able to update. Although I believe that I've been better for some time now, my artistic abilities have not shown themselves for sometime now.. But today was the day of reckoning! Huzzah! I want to thank all of your for understanding. I LOVE YOU ALL!! For those of you who don't know what bipolar disorder is, it's a mood disorder brought about by genetics and a chemical imbalance in the brain. If you're that curious you can check I found it to be a very reliable site. So yeah, I hope to write another chapter soon, but hopefully this hugely long one will suit most of you fine, just fine!

Oh and about the graphic novels, I like Inuyasha so I thought that I'd include that in thur!


	15. Elevators

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! I really liked my writing style in my last chapter, it was so much more mature than the other chapters. Anyways, I started to think about my next fic… although, don't worry this one is far from being over! I was thinking of making a Teen Titans High school story, I dunno some people think it's lame but I think that I might be able to pull it off…any suggestions?

Chapter 15: Elevators

Raven's gaze widened as she urged her dead feet to revive themselves. She slowly made for the blood red blossom, still ever vigilant for the enemy who could be lurking behind any shadow in her room. Her eyes filled with confusion as she gradually stretched her arm out to receive the rose. _Why would he do this?_ She thought as she absentmindedly stroked the velvety petals. She knew that Red X had laid the rose just so, but what she didn't know was why. Why would he come here, destroy her home, and then leave a rose as if to say 'I'm sorry'. Well she wouldn't have it, not one bit. The rose was suddenly shrouded in a black cloud, Raven eyed her work with interest as her powers consumed the flower. The petals shriveled up into nothingness, it limped sorrowfully, as if wounded. She took hold of the beginning of the stem and with one small movement, she blew softly on the rose, turning the once so beautiful delicacy into a gray deceased dust. The dust showered her floor as the small flakes swirled in the air, offering one last magnificent sight before it would forever be forgotten.

"Anything Raven?" Robin asked loudly, jolting Raven from her thoughts.

"N-No, nothing." Raven replied, walking towards the boy wonder.

Robin, sensing her hesitation pried just a little more. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" She snapped back, getting annoyed at any attempt anyone had to meddle in her private affairs. After all X had become her problem.

"All right, just making sure. Well Cyborg's downstairs trying to see if he can recover any video surveillance, do you want to come along?"

Raven thoughtfully gazed at the ceiling, "yeah, I'll come." She finally said, knowing that there would be nothing to do in her room anyway.

"Ok, great." Robin said with a small smile, waiting for Raven to return it. Instead she led the way downstairs. As the two headed out their steps echoed through the empty dreary hallway. They became a metronome that resonated loudly in their minds, being the only essence of sound in the vicinity. Raven could pick up the small exhale of Robin's chest. Although she thought Robin could relate the most to herself, out of the rest of the team, she had to admit, he had no desire or prior training to meditation, accept perhaps that of his extensive martial arts background. Raven closed her eyes slowly, mechanically moving her feet, knowing exactly which way to turn and the exact measurements of the distance between the walls and herself. Although her power could be a curse, it was equally a gift. Her dark telekinesis provided her with a second sight. With her eyes closed in a dead state, she could sense objects and people just as easily as if her eyes were open and alive. A small smile crept onto her lips, fortunately for her, the boy wonder was lagging just behind her billowing cloak. She breathed audibly, a sigh of relief, for no one, not even Robin had known about this unique gift of hers. Though the titans knew the dark titan was capable of more power than she let on, her energy and proficiency to unleash her darkest spells never ceased to amaze the team. However, her gift of second sight need not be unleashed, for it was only beneficial to herself and herself alone. Though she could use it in combat, the team need not worry themselves with her seemingly infinite source of magic. Raven peeled her heavy lids open as she sensed the two approaching the elevator. She pushed the button in annoyance, for she could've easily commanded the button to call for the elevator with her powers has she not been lost in her thoughts.

What seemed like hours later the elevator finally came to a halt on their present floor. The doors slid open with such ease that a small gust of air created by the smooth metal forced Raven's shimmering violet hair to flail backwards and sway back onto her pale face, a few strands slicing through her glistening amethyst eyes. As soon as the two stepped into the small room suspended by a substantial cable, Robin pressed a single button among a sea and the pulley screeched loudly, roaring to life as it gently lowered the two. The deafening silence distributed itself once more.

Normally Raven worshipped silence and bonded with it in a way that no human person could understand, however, the tension in this small moving room could fill the earth with reviving oxygen lasting for years to come. She actually felt compelled to speak, but stopped herself. Speaking was not her cup of tea. If she loved silence, but loved to talk, then Raven would be hypocrite, and she was surely no such thing. Raven inhaled a pungent breath, the air was becoming unreasonably thick in this petite atmosphere, and she could barely stand it. A thought crossed her mind to just transport herself into the titan's main room, but that would not please the leader of the team, not one bit. Out of the corner of her eye she took a small glance at the cape clad titan. His slowly shifting eyes, making their way around every non-existent detail the elevator possessed was making her increasingly nervous. _Wait, why am I nervous?_ She thought to herself, making the air a little easier to breath and her muscles loosen themselves considerably. _I have nothing to be worried about, it's just a normal trip in the elevator, just like any other day. _She practically forced the last few thoughts out. Although she made a strong attempt to convince herself that this was just an ordinary day, it was anything but.

The thoughts racing through Robin's mind ceased to instigate themselves, instead he tried to stray his wandering mind to the boring beige wallpaper of the elevator walls, or the coarse texture they presented, but to no avail. His many years of martial arts assisted him in obtaining a glance over towards his companion in the noiseless room. He brushed his hand up to the side of his head, itching behind his ear and managing to turn ever so slightly in the direction of the dark sorceress. He smiled confidently at his successful attempt and praised himself inwardly; reminding himself that he was capable of anything he set his presently anxious mind to. His reconnaissance mission accomplished the task of providing him with the tactile information that Raven seemed just as awkward and anxious as himself. Another smile crept to his lips as he thought of ways to exploit this weakness that had rarely befallen the unfortunate titan. _Well I can start up a conversation about Red-X, or I can ask her what Starfire and she had done all day, or…_ However he stopped the barrage of thoughts soaring through his tempting mind before he was too drawn in to act upon one of them. His purpose of being a leader and friend to the girl was not to exploit her weaknesses. As a friend it was to confront her and to almost act as a therapist to the clearly wounded girl, getting her to accept the notion of 'out of sight, out of mind'. As a leader it was to inform her of this weakness he so plainly saw on her strained emotionless face and to exert all of her being to hide this, for if this information were relayed to the enemy it could be fatal for her and the team as well. He sighed audibly, registering a second long glance from Raven. He quieted his breath and chose to act of neither of his two choices. Somehow in this confined space, Raven seemed to act as his leader. Her seemingly at ease expression with the clearly tension filled air, impressed Robin. There weren't many people he knew that could maintain such a cold, detached exterior, while having a million thoughts knowingly the same as his register themselves in her mind. The girl fascinated him beyond all doubt and that was easy to see. He had never met anyone so…different, but in a way that pleased him. From the moment he had met the titan, something about her left her image and way of living on his mind, surfacing itself through random times in the day.

Seeing how he was a guy, he often compared Starfire and Raven. Starfire, being his long-time crush, and Raven, the sole being who occupied his thoughts. Though Starfire was the best friend he could ever have, that was a girl, he always seemed to be more attracted to the reserved type. Much like himself, he knew that while Raven was quiet and disliked many activities deemed 'fun' by most earthlings, that she obtained an intellect like no other human he had ever come in contact with. Behind her cold exterior and her sturdy emotional mind barriers flowed an oasis of emotions, hungry for the want to feel. Her hate longed to escape from suppression and wreak havoc on Jump City, her timid emotion waits to disappear into a world of guilt and self-pity, and her love lingers in the darkest depths of her endless barriers, yearning for the chance to revive itself, stretch forth and tenderly force itself upon anyone and everyone whom she has ever come into contact with. And somewhere, in the shaded recesses of his mind he longed to dote upon this girl, he could wait till time itself ceased to exist just to enable her to feel.

The piercing shriek of the thick metal cable descending them to meet the remaining titans snapped the two out of any lingering thoughts that they may have had. It seems that during their unusually time consuming journey downward the two titans had unknowingly physically drifted closer together to the point where the backs to their hands grazed each other's, creating a seemingly unnoticeable friction, warming both their connected skin and their cheeks. Both titans pulled away quickly, masking their blushes shyly as the metal doors hissed open, revealing the rest of the titans, eagerly awaiting Raven and Robin's presence.

END OF CHAPTER 15!!

Ok so, I know this chapter had not a lot of action and more character development, but that's exactly what I wanted. Plus, this chapter was for the many of my loyal reviewers who wanted to see more Rae/Rob action..I really like the fluffiness of robin!! So yeah, a little OOC? Perhaps, but hey, it's my fic, so meh…if you don't like it write your own…and tell me because I would love to read it!!

Also, for a bit of self-advertisement, I have recently taken it upon myself to create a profile..i have no friends yet tear. So I thought that anyone of you that has one could maybe add me..I have a few pics of some of my photography I have taken, but I should get more sometime in the near future. My link to my profile is on my homepage. I think it's http://postmorality. so yes, please add me!!THANKS!!


	16. Dreaming

Hey everybody! Ok so I've discovered a new route I wanna go with the story line! It's gonna be exciting, I can't wait to see how it turns out! So I want to make it so this fic goes to about 20 or 25 chapters, then I want to start my next high school teen titans fic! The love triangle will be kept the same however, so you can put your torches and pitch forks down now, hehe. Just a question before I start, has anyone noticed how many mary sue fics there are in the teen titans nowadays, its like all I ever see on the 'just in' section anymore..slightly depressing…

Chapter 16: Dreaming

Both titans pulled away quickly, masking their blushes shyly as the metal doors hissed open, revealing the rest of the titans, eagerly awaiting Raven and Robin's presence.

They both shyly exited the elevator as it harshly clamped its doors shut. Robin turned his head to take one last look at Raven before diving head first into the case at hand. He turned his head quickly to the right, and then quickly turned it back, pretending to stretch his neck. Raven had always seemed depressed to him, though he knew very well that the darkness was often misinterpreted by most, including his other team mates, he would often observe her habits and interests and had deemed her to be something otherworldly. It may have been the culture that she was brought up in, and he also that she was nothing even coming close to relating to the human's of earth. Although she was brought up in a way that was unknown to him, it seemed like she had been almost human, but her mind had warped her spirit into something that was so broken that if he would even graze his hand upon it, it would sever, losing his friend in a dead darkened forest. The labyrinth of the trees would create a perpetual world, and she would vanish within the spindly trees and the canopy of fog that would hide the exit to freedom.

"Anything Cyborg." Raven asked in her usual monotone voice. Robin stared at her, shocked at her ability to remain quite, but also take on the duties of a leader when needed.

During that elevator ride something had changed in her. Even her exterior supported this theory as Robin contemplated the variable that had changed her. Her brittle posture had changed in a way that brought life to her features. Just watching her speak brought warmth to his heart, perhaps in those few moments of uncomfortable silence, she had forgiven him. Her way of portraying this apology was all her own, but an eerie feeling befell him as he realized that he must connect with her on some wavelength, for he had understood her unspoken message of apology. Smiling at her and drinking in his surroundings one last time, he finally pulled himself back from the hazy, warm, and awkwardly soothing feeling he was intoxicated by.

"Nothing! I can't believe that I have a million dollars worth of technology in this tower, and nothing can tell us who did this!" Cyborg yelled, steaming mad as his face became beaded up in a furious sweat.

"Friends, please! We will find who did this!" Starfire interjected, remaining in a positive attitude, hoping her friends would follow suit.

"We don't have anything to go on, we don't even know how long ago this took place!" Robin said, resuming his role of leader as the team. "I suggest we all just get some rest and maybe some leads will show up in the morning."

Though everyone's face appeared to disagree with the Boy Wonder's plan of attack, they all nodded and shuffled their feet heavily to their rooms, Cyborg, of course, stomping the loudest out of all while muttering curses under his breath. Robin took a moment to watch his friends depart to their own section of the tower, before he too took his leave. He walked down the hall, his steel-toed boots making an annoyingly loud sound as it hit the thinly carpeted floor. He made a mental note to replace the hideous color, a sort of beige, tarnished with Beastboy's stains of this or that. He looked up, completely disgusted by the ugly carpeting and noticed that he wasn't alone. Raven was a few yards a head of him, walking swiftly, yet silently to her room. He stopped and let her walk on, admiring how gracefully she took each step. Each step was brought up slowly in a controlled way, as if her meditation was in each one she took. Her feet landed soundlessly, a skill that even Robin, a highly trained warrior, had not yet accomplished. These thoughts returned his inebriated state that he had found himself in earlier. He shook it off, despite how hard his mind resisted his order to draw itself back into the present. He sluggishly drug his feet and continued to his room thanking his conscious for making him ten times more tired than he already was.

WITH RAVEN

She felt a presence behind her as she continued her slow journey to her domain. She immediately recognized it as Robin. She slowed her almost immobile pace even more to inwardly observe his behavior. He seemed like he was watching her, studying her habits. A scowl echoed throughout her conscience, though she had forgiven him for yelling at her, he was testing her patience. Why was he so concerned for her? She had already made it clear that there was nothing to worry about, yet he pressed her even further. _He's pushing me to do this._ She thought, giving her an excuse as she was about to do the unforgivable. She brought forth her powers, concealing them within her mind. She stretched her sinister raven wings as she flew into Robin's thoughts. Luckily she could also conceal her powers while inside her victim, or else she would be in a mess of trouble with her leader. She had only used her powers of telepathy when her friends needed it, never for her own benefit or revenge. She peeked through every dead-end in the vast labyrinth that was his mind, searching for anything with relevance. Her eyes widened as she slowed her pace even more. She felt a warm fuzzy feeling right on the outward edges of his mind. This inviting feeling confused Raven; this took up most of his conscience thoughts at this present time, so he must be feeling it now, while looking at Raven. She withdrew her powers from his mind as she felt herself become drawn into the welcoming heat as well. She closed her eyes, sealing the emotions that had leaked out behind her barrier once again. She opened her glimmering spheres as she finished her task and resumed the forgotten one of journeying to her room.

The trip back to her room had been short and quick, and as soon has she closed the door she ripped through her emotional walls, searching for Robin's moment old memory. A few other emotions escaped, shattering her vanity mirror and releasing a gust of wind, forcing her barricade of curtains open, summoning the full moon to paste itself upon Raven's darkening features. However, she would clean up their mess later, as soon as she located the missing memory of her leader. The hazy feeling consumed her once again, forcing her to stumble over to her bed. She plopped down, allowing the head bored to lightly tap the wall. She gripped her head, not in pain, but in soothing pleasure. Whatever Robin had been feeling for her, it must've been purely friendship based, she thought as she came to that conclusion. Releasing her powers once more, she tore the memory from her thoughts, and forced it out of her mind completely, unwillingly to ever venture to its relaxing, comforting qualities again.

With a soft sound of the blankets releasing themselves from their attachment to her milky skin, she levitated herself, and began to calmly mutter her mantra, fixing the damage she had done to her coveted realm. She sent her powers on a search for the escaped emotions and properly imprisoned them once again, dreading each time she locked up the cell. She wished that she could just rid of these horrid emotions, just be able to feel, however looking around and at the state of her vanity mirror, she knew that it was a pleasure that she would never be able to experience.

She slowly lowered herself back onto her bed. She slammed her back against her luxurious mattress, the blankets reattaching themselves to her. She unhooked the latch that kept her cloak protectively around her neck, yet it still remained under her weight. She lightly kicked her feet as they hung off the bed. She concentrated on this task as it entertained her slightly and it kept her thoughts from wandering to a certain member of the titans. She swung her legs back and forth until her breathing quickened its pace. She gave one last kick and brought her legs up, resting her feet on the very edge of the mattress. Looking up at the ceiling and the pattern of dark swirls and circles that encompassed it began to make her feel drowsy. She followed each pattern, noticing how they all ceased the same way, spinning endlessly into oblivion. She lowered her eyes, giving the lead weight that now rested upon it lee way. With one sigh she slipped off her boots, threw her cape carelessly on the floor and spun herself within the safe, silky, fortifications of her blankets. She turned on her side and allowed the velvety moonlight to bask upon her facial features. She gave a small smile, noticing how gentle and delicate the moon was compared to the sun. This thought brought upon the realization that the sun would soon extend its rays through her naked windows. She sorrowfully summoned her powers to zip the curtains close, cutting off all further contact with the tender moonlight which she coveted so highly.

With nothing to occupy her vision and thoughts, she stared awkwardly into the complete and utter darkness that had spread itself to every corner of her quarter. The obscurity made for a lonely companion tonight, yet she refused to let her thoughts drift back to any encounters she had today. Within the safe compounds of her mind, she recited her mantra, repeatedly until she finally fell into a deep slumber, full of her subconscious thoughts that she had refuse to let escape.

Raven eyes closed tightly as the images placing themselves in her subconscious took hold of any power she possessed to will them away.

She was placed in a dream world, a very familiar one.

"The city?!" She said aloud in shock and confusion. She looked around, something wasn't right. Raven had been to many cities before she had settled in this one, all the previous, including this one, had often had at least some form of night life. Yet there was no one to be seen for as long as Raven could. The buildings jutted from the paved streets in the exact places where they ought to, everything seemed to be in place, yet the aspect of the wild crowds of drunkards stumbling down the street or the homeless rummaging through trashcans was missing. "Where is everyone?" She vocalized as she began to walk down the abandoned road. She eyed each building, looking for any lights or sign of life, as she quickened her pace. Uneasiness crept through her blood, as if a million spiders had crawled up from the ground and were running amok on her body. She shivered as a wave of coldness overtook her. She stood atop a slope upwards on the road, eyeing what journey she had ahead of her. To her, the road resembled an eternal black river, with the twists and turns of a natural stream, it made it even more apparent. She sighed loudly, not really thinking about what her purpose was here, but rather she needed to be somewhere. It seemed as if her feet had a map planned out and were moving themselves on their own accord. Raven didn't question their motives; the thought didn't even cross her mind. All of her past was forgotten, her home of Azarath, her friends, the Teen Titans, everything, she just needed to get to this one place, her feet would stop at nothing, and Raven was just along for the ride. Her feet brought her to the abandoned warehouse that Red-X had first taken her hostage in. She glanced out at the bay as her feet began to take her inside the building, she saw Titan's Tower, standing monumentally in the middle of the churning water, but she neither recognized it as her home, nor where her body was.

As her body crossed the threshold of the rusty aged compound, fear flooded through her body. Her pulse quickened and her breathing became erratic, yet she pressed onward, not even grasping the concept that she had the choice of exiting the ancient building. She swallowed the lump that had secured itself tightly in her vocal cords, leaving her unable to speak She stopped in the middle of the warehouse, unable to move. She looked around, paranoid at what might jump out from the shadow. She felt her heart beating incessantly as a small noise erupted a gasp from her throat. She whipped her head around from the direction the sound came from. Raven thought it resembled the shuffling of feet, but could not be sure.

Then, from the other direction a figure masked in the shadows jumped out from behind the boxes that had looked like they had been there for years. The foe tackled Raven to the ground, knocking all the air that had built up inside her lungs, out. Raven tried to fight off the attacker, not using her powers, for she had no knowledge of them here. The masked attacker was definitely a man, she could tell by his body shape and the muscles that make themselves more apparent and known on a man's figure. The man stood up and roughly took hold of Raven's shoulders, forcing her to stand as well. He sharply gripped her shoulders and lifted her slightly before brutally throwing her against the steel cold walls. While she was stunned, she took hold of both her wrists in one of his hands and the other forced her attention back to him as it explored her features. She struggled to free her trapped wrists, but to no avail, and instead concentrated her attention on what the masked man was doing to her. He was stroking her unclothed thighs, and moved upwards to her toned stomach. She squirmed, trying to get out of his grasp once more, that's when she looking into the face of her masked attacker.

"X!" She gasped in surprise.

Just then, she turned her head sharply, jolting her subconscious back into the recesses of her mind. She shoved her upper body away from the safe confines of her mattress. Her breath was caught in her throat and the need for air came out in ragged gasps. She put her hand over her heart to feel it ready to burst right from her chest. She could feel the blood racing in her head, a comforting hand befell it, but the hand recoiled in shock to find pints of sweat running down her face. She drew in a deep breath, slowing her heart rate immensely, closing her eyes and attempting to block out the dream that she had thought to be so real, she took in a few more. She kicked her blankets away, as if they contained disease, and brought her knees to her chin, rocking herself back and forth. To her, this was her way of crying, knowing well that she could not have a breakdown.

END OF CHAPTER 16!!

Ok so I put a little action in there. I hope everyone knows that it was a dream sequence and not a real fight, thing. I thought that there was too much emotional drama in the last few chapters, and I thought that I might be losing some readers because it was boring, lord knows the reviews reflect it, I hope this'll hold everyone of until I reveal my SINISTER PLOT!!MUAHAHAHAHA!!


	17. Trash

Hey everyone! Only 10 more reviews until I hit the 200 marker!! Come on, where have all my readers gone! Come on guys! Just 10 more! Btw the title is from a song by KoRn!

Chapter 17: Trash

Cold, icy water splashed onto Raven's naked body. Her hands remained shaking at a constant rate, and her veins became frigid and ceased to bring sweet life to her numb mind. Her breathing was ragged as she exhaled, releasing a few sobs. Her frail fingers wrapped themselves around her head as she tried to get a grip. The two knobs on her shower erupted in black and were blown off their secure holding to the white tiled wall, narrowly missing Raven's trembling legs. They collided with the other side of the shower, causing a gapping hole and much of the dust and powder to shower Raven's broken and battered form. She tried to remain strong against her battling emotions, in so doing, losing her strength to stand. A small whimper echoed throughout the empty bathroom as she collapsed into the tub, letting the arctic water bleed down her back, and seep into her tousled violet locks. Her shivering form would even bring pity to the eyes of even a cruel heartless monster. Raven was completely broken, she couldn't even control herself or her exterior.

"Why me?" She whispered, asking no one in particular. She sealed her eyes and her tears mixed with the water as it soared to the drain and disappeared into the slightly clogged pipes.

Her shower ended quickly after that and instead of teleporting to her room, which was her trend, she simply walked out into the hall, towel wrapped securely around her midsection. Her vision was securely focused on the hideous stain-ridden carpet. As she walked in her trance-like state the sun had just began its round of good tidings to the citizens of Jump City. Naturally the windows embraced the sun and allowed the merry rays to breach the tower and spread it's wholesomeness into every inch of the neglected building. The glimmering lights played with the shadows and hues in every room, shooing away the darkness and arranged quarters for the more lighthearted day-oriented crowd. Yet this day the sun almost wept as it forced itself to rise. The rays attached themselves to the windows, afraid to enter the awkward, gloomy atmosphere that was the tower. The light seemed to bounce off Raven as she crept her way down the hall. The giant ball of blazing fire was most relived to find a savior in all this darkness, a storm that was making its way and would block out the sun from the repugnant tragedy that had befallen the awoken member of the tower.

She continued her zombified stroll and finally made it back to her dim compound, she shrugged the towel off and walk to her closet, water still forming into beads on her dead skin and tearing up to the floor. She slipped her leotard on, the remaining wetness soaking into it and making it an even darker shade of black. She strode over to her bedside, picking up the cape that had found refuge in a heap on her purple shaded carpet. As she fastened the cloak, which weighed her down slightly, she closed her eyes and inhaled a meditative breath. She sat at her vanity, staring intriguingly at her own reflection. Her eyes traveled over her violet locks. They used to shimmer, even in the darkest shadows, but the glint of light had long since vanished. She swiveled her eyes downward a hair and noticed the slightest trace of wrinkles had befallen her forehead. 'Worry lines' as most would call them, and she did have quite a bit to worry about, like, oh say, saving an entire city from evil-doers 24/7. She lowered her glance and it came into contact with a pair of stunning violet eyes, perhaps the only beautiful thing left on her body. They had also changed, however, into two emotionless, tired globes. They seemed like they had given up on living all together. Trying to make a good name for themselves, but never being able to escape their past. A sinister evil could be seen, clouded by self-will, but it still lingered, Shrouded with hope. It was always the same story with everyone, no one ever fully escapes their past, but with Raven it was more than running away from it. She had made it her life's pursuit, her destiny to run from Trigon and create a destiny of her own. It was so unbearably hard at times that Raven had wished that she would've just succumbed to her father and not even risked escape. But she was already past that 'what if' stage and she could not longer look into the past. Suddenly, she became nauseated just by staring into her own glimmering gems, they had disgusted her in such a way, that she had actually pulled herself away from her own reflection. Shaking her head vigorously she forced herself to return to the girl in the mirror, she had to face her demons before they escaped and presented themselves to her friends. She moved her eyes down to her lips, instantly she felt a tight pain in her chest. How she had longed to use her lips for something other than insulting Beastboy's lame jokes. How she had longed just to be close to someone, even but for a moment. _Not possible, you will never be close to anyone, how many times do we have to go through this._

"Shut up!" Raven yelled, loud enough to even awaken the slumbering residents of the city she is sworn to protect. Rage released itself temporarily, but the damage was done. Her vanity mirror, in her very image has shattered in the center, as if a fist had collided with the smooth surface. The shards still clung to the backboard, still hoping for a chance to live. Raven turned back to see her reflection again, there was a break in the center, and slices of missing glass stretching outwards, towards the frame. Her face was split into 10 pieces, and on the shards her facial expression seemed different in each one.

A forceful knock broke her from her thoughts. _It must be the head ache that's coming on._ She thought as she felt a sharp pain in her head. She gripped her head and rested her elbows on her vanity counter, trying to subdue the pain in anyway possible. The pounding sounded throughout her mind again. _Ugh! Go away!_ She sighed inwardly. But somehow the pounding had reverberated throughout her deadly quite room. Her eyes split open immediately, _the door!_

She leapt up from her seat and, unthinkingly, wrenched her heavy door wide open, big mistake…

"Raven, are you okay? Is someone in there with you?" It was Robin, as nosey as ever, craning his neck to the point of injuring himself for the slightest peek into her forbidden room.

Raven ushered her door to close around her frame as she attempted to hide her broken vanity mirror.

"Robin!" She said, surprise flowing throughout her drained voice. "No one's here, just me." She said, trying to ease his muscled that were obviously tensed up, ready for a fight. "What are you doing here?" She asked, a little more like her usual self.

"I was up early, training, but I heard voices. Are you sure you're alone?" Robin questioned, still trying to see into her darkened room.

"That, uh, that was me, I was talking to myself." Raven stuttered, her first moment where she was the one at a loss for words.

Robin raised a questioning and slightly shocked eyebrow at her remark. "You? Were talking? To yourself?" He asked completely stunned.

"Yes, I'm only human, I have imperfections too, you know." She said smartly, well her mother was human, so that made her part human, so she wasn't technically lying.

"Right. Well, I was going to go to the roof for a breather, you want to come." Robin asked, always looking for an opportunity to get Raven out of her dark room.

Raven looked back into her room; her broken vanity mirror meant a mess for her to clean up, as did her bed spread, still saturated in sweat, not to mention the wet feet prints that had seeped into her fluffy carpet. Somehow this sight annoyed her in the aspect that she was too lazy, for the first time in her life, to clean it up. Just the sight of her whole room annoyed her, though the darkness was perhaps her only understanding friend, she still loathed it in a way that she could never explain. Her eyebrow creased as she made a decision.

"Yeah, I'll come, just one second." She closed her doors and not a moment later emerged, the remaining sunlight, not blocked out by the ominous clouds flowing freely into her prison like an ocean that had been held back by a dam. It tousled itself into the unexplored corners of her room and merrily planted itself in ever direction, vanishing and reappearing as the clouds directed. Robin smiled widely as he saw a new emotion playing in Raven's shimmering eyes.

END OF CHAPTER 17!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so obviously next chapter will be the roof scene, a little rae/rob for a all you fans…**also I COULDN'T WAIT ANY LONGER I HAD TO PUT UP MY NEW FIC!!! So just click on my name and it'll take u to my profile, it's called "quid pro quo: something for something" as high school fic..i need some reviews to help my self esteem heehee. Thanks for reading as always!!!!**


	18. Breathe

Authors note: ok some were confused about the ending of the last chapter. At the end, with the opening of her curtains, she had what I like to call, "a moment of clarity." The dream was her "down in the dumps" time, and you know what they say. It can only get better. Sorry I should've explained it better!

And a SPECIAL THANKS TO NERDSAVVY FOR BEING MY 200TH REVIEW!!! hands balloons and chocolate cake to nerdsavvy hope you like chocolate!!

Chapter 18: Breathe

Raven lead the way up to the roof, her cloak unfurling, nipping at the heels of her shoes. Robin followed closely behind her, getting the distinct impression that she had somehow elevated herself beyond her normal darkened mood into something enlightened-like. He smiled to himself in appreciation of the competence she had to live each day with a dark shadow cast over her. But they had extinguished that shadow long ago, and although Raven was still left unable to feel, she had sealed a bond with the titans that will never be broken.

Their feet tapped the floor in unison as the sound of a distant ticking clock reverberated through the dead hallways. The sun's light shone constantly in the cloudless sky, etching its heat into each room of the tower. The simple breathing of the two titans could barely be made out as they ascended to the roof.

Raven threw open the weighty metal door and a small gust of wind soared past her, showering her features in a sea mist aroma as it took refuge inside the tower. The sun instantly slapped her in the face, and while the Boy Wonder's smile showed content in the sun's company, Raven hurriedly pulled her hood up, blocking the enflamed sphere as if its warm rays would burn her.

"It's a nice day." Robin spoke suddenly, his masked eyes closing as the sun continue to warm his face.

Although Raven's idea of a nice day is anything but the latter, she decided not to ruin her and Robin's moment. "Yeah." She simply replied, her mood slowly worsening by the minute.

She eyed her companion as he waltzed over to the roofs edge, glancing down at the pathetic excuse for a beach that their island claimed.

"Raven…"He began, but trailed off, giving Raven an inkling that he was uncomfortable.

She picked up her feet and brought herself over to his side, resting her hands on the cement railing and starring into his face, which was still facing down towards the ocean.

"You would tell me if something was really bothering you right?" He asked, still not glancing upwards to meet her quizzical violet orbs.

The question completely caught Raven off guard. In fact, she was so surprised that she began to stutter slightly. "W-what do you mean?"

A long drawn-out silence commenced, and finally he took a deep breath before he spoke. "I want to know that you're safe." He said, confusing Raven even more.

Out of all the questions racing through her mind, she chose the most awkward. "Why?"

He opened his mouth but stopped, either because he was re-thinking his answer, or he couldn't think of one. A few moments later he turned to her finally, instantly mesmerized by her soft shadow-covered eyes. "Because I care…about you."

Raven's eyes widened slightly, but she regained her composure immediately. Even more thoughts pulsed through her mind as she was trying to grasp his words. Either he meant her cared for her as a team mate and fellow titan…or…the unspeakable. She shook her head _No, clearly her meant only as a friend._ But somewhere, lurking deep inside her unfeeling heart she hoped that he meant he cared for her a little more than just friends.

"Raven?" He broke her from her thoughts, awaiting some form of a reply.

Robin had put himself out on a ledge, for she knew that it was just as hard for him to succumb to his feelings as it was for her, so she might as well be honest with him, even though it was completely unlike her to reveal her deep thoughts and emotions. "I care about you too." She replied, in a dream-like speech.

They both smiled, knowing the full capacity of each other's feelings for the other. As they both turned their heads towards the gentle sea the unexpected happened. Robin ever-so slowly placed his gloved hand a top Raven's.

Slowly but surely Raven's face began to turn a light, almost unnoticeable pink, and steadily it began to morph deeper and deeper in hue until it finally rested upon an intense crimson red. Raven thanked the gods that she had mounted her hood atop her head, for no one, not even Robin would get to see her lose her composure so easily. As her cheeks burned she could hear a not far off explosion, and Raven frowned at her escaped emotion. But her attention was turned back towards Robin, who upon hearing the explosion didn't jump or even break his focus on the shimmering bay waves. Raven's brow furrowed as she too regained her gaze out onto the bay. _No one's ever done that before._

But despite Raven's feeling of awkwardness, she somehow felt at peace with herself, just as if she had spent hours meditating. _Maybe there is something to this "feeling thing."_

END OF CHAPTER 18!!!

Ok I know it's short, but I got a lot of reviews asking for rae/rob fluff..so I was hoping that the fluff in this chapter would sort of make up for the shortness lol so I hope all you reviewers like this extra special chapter, and im sorry if the characters seem a little OOC!


	19. Feelings

I LIVE! So for the past few weeks I've been getting, for some reason, a large amount of reviews without even updating. I felt super bad and all, so here is the spectacular, awesome, to die for update of the century!!! I hope to actually post more than one chapter and finish this whole fic before summer is over...ready, set, go! 

Chapter 19: Feelings

The waves were tender and gentle as they brushed the rocky shore line. Intricate marine life could be spotted, scattered naturally upon the jagged beach. A complete miniature world rested, without notice, on our heroes land. Well, almost without notice...

Raven's gaze weaved in between each colony of crabs and each community of scavenging seagulls. Her memory was ingrained of this peaceful image as if it would not see tomorrow's rising sun. She blinked slowly, inhaling the salty aroma of the gorgeous element surrounding her. Stealing one last glimpse, she swiveled her glimmering orbs to the delicately setting sun. The simmering heat was fading away slowly, yet she could still feel the slightest essence on her face.

Robin has long since left the roof, and was no doubt thriving in the company of the other titans. Although during the heavenly time they had spent together, in which, Raven had discovered her true feelings for the mask clad titan, she was glad that he had left her soon after to her thoughts.

Though her exterior seemed at peace, the great expanse in her mind played host to a gruesome struggle.A cataract, plump and on the brink of explosion. Her heart, though tainted black from birth, longed to express her imprisoned emotions. But her pride and natural way of coping, demanded that she shove her feelings for Robin as far away as possible.

_Why can't I just be normal?_ She thought as the deep cloud of depression cast itself through her rejuvenated spirit, cascading down the rough edges of the sharp twisted pathway into the covert of her most darkest of thoughts. Though she did value her differences at some level, nothing, not even the immense amount of power flowing through her veins could make her embraced her demonic half. _It's not like everyone feels for me the way Robin does._ Though she was still a little uncertain about his true feelings. _Just this one time, I wish I could be normal...for him._ She frowned deeply as the glowing sun died out. The crabs recoiled into their exotic shells, and the loudly squawking seagulls took flight, magnetically drawn back to their nests.

Raven's brow furrowed in sadness. Her thoughts shifted to an archaic discovery, yet no amount of time could mend it's dysphoric overcast. But where is my home? For as long as she had been with the titans, she had accepted their perspectives that they were, indeed, each other's family. Perhaps the only member of the team that actually had blood relatives was Starfire. But her natural outgoing personality had been more than happy to embrace all of the titans unconditionally. However, the term 'family' had a completely different meaning to her. On Azarath, family could be a beautiful assurance to the peace of mind to some. Yet in her, and many other Azarathian's cases, family was a curse. It was something injected into your existence that you could not escape.

No amount of running or denial could kill the poisoned blood that was inevitably latched into each dark crevasse of their spirits, bonded eternally onto each bursting emotion, coursing forever through her animalistic, uncontrollable rage. Your fate was sealed the moment you were conceived. Family, to her, was an unfightable battle, an inextinguishable flame, a guilty verdict to be condemned to damnation for all eternity.

She wished so badly to forget all that was taught to her on her wretched planet, yet, try as she might, often she could not grasp earthly definitions and concepts, much like Starfire. A futile attempt to flee her destiny perhaps. At times it did seem to her, that it was a mistake coming to this lush planet. If her family was an unargueable issue, then her fate, was it completely out of the question and useless to try and change it? Though she had defied the odds stacked against her by challenging and soon after defeating Trigon, she still knew that the universe had more in store for her. What if the monks of Azarath were wrong from the start by foreseeing her destiny as a mere portal for her father? What if it was indeed her destiny to defeat him and to choose her own path in life? It was all so confusing, and she knew no matter how long she dwelled on the issue, there would be no solution. Time, and only time, could resolve it.

Her thoughts returned to the aforementioned concepts of families._ No, friends cannot be your family._ She concluded, shaking her head, slightly angry with herself. Only she could focus on the negatives in life, even after the moment in heaven she had experienced on the rooftop. _That's the most of heaven that I will ever see._ She bit her bottom lip, not wanting to travel backwards to revel in the unwanted memories of her forever doomed heritage.

Not caring to drag herself down any further, she shifted her thoughts onto an equally nauseating situation that needed to be dealt with.

Robin. No, not only him, Red-X. Her stomach heaved as her mind began to unravel the memory of their previous meeting. It had been under such awkward circumstances, and yet, despite all the numerous reasons to kill her hidden emotions, she had, for a moment, somehow felt whole. A debilitating void had been filled, and understanding had presented itself upon the two. Red-X was a person that had a life, a past, eerily similar to hers. Not to mention the quirks and defined attributes that had highlighted themselves in both their personalities seemed unmistakably corresponding as well.

It was an indecisive split decision. Robin, to her, was an angel. Simply untouchable to her filthy demonic limbs. He was the highly coveted forbidden fruit. To say Robin was too good for Raven was a drastic understatement. To put it bluntly, Robin sat miles above the ground on a blindingly white, angelic pedestal, with a mystic, endless staircase riddled with danger and uncertainty below it. No amount of stairs climbed, people saved, or destinies shunned away could ever create a loophole allowing her to reach her beautiful desire. Hope, even the slightest flicker seemed like a wasted effort.

Red-X, on the other hand was the complete and total opposite. Though he was human, he soul seemed demonic, and meant for her. His clouded heart beat at the same pace, his blood boiled at the same heat, and his similar fate he had chosen provided Raven with a second hand. And it seemed like fate was clashing Raven's world with his crime infested one, constantly, so often it seemed impossible, at best, that it was a coincidence. Was someone trying to tell her something? That she was indeed destined to be evil, every facet of her life, as the monks of her planet had foresaw? Or were they allowing her to try and redeem her cursed birth by teasingly providing her with the far fetched option of an angel? The more questions she stacked up, the more obvious it was becoming that her fate rested on the dark side of the endless battle of good versus evil.

Although she knew this predicament needed to be sorted out, she couldn't help but get frustrated of the issue that had never presented itself previously in her life, and digress her thoughts all together. Pushing her opaque lips into a hard line, she focused on her mental list of distractions. After reviewing each one with detail she came to a conclusion that meditation seemed like the most beneficial distraction of the list.

So, the distinguished sea life was left to a peaceful slumber, with the angelic lullaby of the gentle waves caressing each colony of every tide pool.

* * *

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Raven chanted softly, though the words never reached her mind to work their magic on her slowly stabilizing emotions. Her thoughts were ablaze, racing faster than her own pulse. Though her mind was already littered with them, more questions began to flood through her tormented mind. She was captured in an inner struggle, and she had reached an impasse. 

Red-X. He was mysteriously alluring to her. He was her deepest fantasy come to life, though she would never ever admit that to anyone. If her most common emotions needed to be bound, then to unleash her feelings of lust, it was simply unthinkable. Though, they were beginning to make themselves known to her. It would possibly take an eternity for her to have enough control to express them. The thought did create a surge of hope, and the smallest of smiles graced her lips, though it soon diminished as the word 'eternity' echoed through her mind.

She tidied her expression and adjusted her cloak, determined to get at least a good twenty minutes of meditation in before her thoughts and questions bombarded her once more.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." But ,yet again, the words were hollow, empty, and without meaning.

Robin. Her thoughts fixated upon him once again. Her memory unveiled the earlier conversation she had afflicted upon herself. Was fate stepping in and allowing her a chance to live her life the way she wished to? Though she had taken fate into her own hands when she sought out the titans, she still believed fate was uncontrollable, another lesson taught of Azarath. Perhaps due to the fact that her whole life thus far, her destiny had been mapped out and set in stone. Maybe if the monks that had foresaw her destiny, had also managed to see that Trigon would be defeated, it wouldn't have left her so scarred and hesitant to hope. Her hope that she was able to slough off her demonic side had, as of late, dwindled dangerously close to vanishing all together. The thought made a shiver run down her spine, but she could not deny the truth of the statement. Nor could she deny the budding feelings for her team leader. Though Red-X had enlivened a new emotion in her, the feelings that Robin sparked in her were different and perhaps more powerful all together.

_It's not love...not yet at least._ She thought, the thrilled smile returning to her placid lips. The possibilities crescendoed her heart rate, but the warmness vanished just as soon as it had appeared.

She knitted her eyebrows together, finally reaching a resolution. If fate was giving her a choice, then it would obviously be with Robin, she would not pass up such a splendid opportunity. Nothing, not even her other yearnings for Red-X could make her choose a fate so closely resembled to her father and his evil wishes for her.

She uncrossed her rigid legs, and stretched her rested arms. Sighing audibly as she laid back onto her bed, the sheets tousled even more as they cast brilliant dark shadows amongst the pre-existing darkness. It seemed to her, though unintentional at the time, that she had led him on ,somewhat. Though he had done the majority, if not all of the courting -if that was what it was meant to be- she could not deny the slight guilt of that lustful feeling lurking in her mind, though he knew nothing of it. Still, it only seemed fair, whilst comforting her guilty conscience, to relay the truth of her intentions and the lack of his presence and appearance in them.

Now, after reaching a solution between Robin and Red-X, it seemed rather preposterous to be interested in Red-X to begin with. He was a villain, one of the titan's arch nemeses. He was the complete opposite of her and her super hero status. Though the knowledge lingered that Red-X and Raven were strikingly reflecting in the depths of her mind. And that's where she would order them to stay.

But the remaining thought was thrown from her mind as she began to scheme the outlay of her escape plan. She had come to the conclusion to wait until the dead of night, it seemed like the only logical way to go about things. The other titans would be deep in slumber and the cover of the darkness would not give her position away easily.

A devious grin played on her lips as her plot became whole. Now, at least she could meditate with ease, knowing her decision was complete and there were no lingering questions plaguing her. She resumed her meditation stance, trying to fill the silence with her shallow chants as long as possible. She would need plenty of control over her emotions with what she had in store for herself for tonight.

Her focus was completely on her meditation, for she knew that X would try to break her down. Her composure needed to be solid, flawless, in order to pull off her intentions. She inhaled fluidly and increased her concentration, targeting the specific emotions that he would arise in her. She would not give in to his disturbing way of charming her, and that was something she felt certain about.

* * *

The luminous crescent moon rapidly sunk behind a thick blanket of velvety storm clouds. The city was shrouded in darkness. A low rattling clap of thunder sounded throughout the business district, stretching and weaving in between the residentials before it sunk into the never ending forest. A few drops of rain fell into the city, warning it of the dense sheet of rain that was planning at attack any moment. The few drops gathered in size until the full cavalry had arrived. Puddles began to emerge throughout the city as the storm picked up force, drumming against the slowly increasing current of the bay. The wind whipped, dancing with the cool rain as it changed directions, forcing the drops to assault Titan's Tower. 

There Raven stood, watching with interest and excitement her favorite type of weather prevail and triumph over all parts of the immense metropolis. She was infinitely lucky that such a blessing had bestowed itself on a night as important as this. She now had her cover of darkness, as well as the added bonus of frequent thunder and lightning that would drown out even the smallest of sounds that she could unintentionally create as she made her escape.

She pressed her flat palm against the glass, allowing the coldness to seep onto her skin, sewing itself onto her weaving veins. She shivered slightly,almost feeling the rain play upon her milky skin.

She closed her eyes in deep concentration and phased soundlessly through the solid glass. Gracefully, she flew through the air, the wind knocking her hood askew. viewing her hood as useless at this point, she didn't bother to pull the cloth shield back atop her head. The heavy rain drenched her cloak and hair, the coldness slowly flowing through every inch of her delicate flesh. She squinted harshly, finding it difficult to locate the city with such a limited field of vision. However, she pressed onwards as she approached the devastated beach.

Landing soundlessly, the wet sand glued itself in thick layers to the bottoms of her boots, creating a crunching sound as her feet found the pavement. She had long since lost patience with flying, and had decided upon navigating her way through the empty, half flooded city, as impossible of a task as that may have seemed.

She didn't know exactly where to find X, but she would start with the warehouse from their last encounter. If X was as infatuated with Raven as she thought he was, he would be seeking her out as well. She relaxed slightly, knowing that she would not be returning to the tower without being in Red-X's company first.

She thought it not possible, but she was even more drenched than before as she approached the abandoned warehouse. Her muscles stiffened instantly and she became vigilant as she advanced towards the rusty, nearly collapsed opening. Obviously the small entrance was a sorry excuse for a door, but Raven wasn't there to make comments on the poor architecture radiating throughout the local businesses.

She braced herself against the enormous door, trying to create enough space to allow her small frame to squeeze through. Pressing her body weight, in full, against the frigid metal, it rumbled in protest as the sharp edges scraped against the uneven ground. Though seemingly impossible, the innards of the warehouse were even darker than outside.

She took a few hesitant, wary steps inside, letting her eyes somewhat adjust to the piercing blackness. A few solid silhouettes stood out as she began to trek her way through the maze, unelegantly bumping into boxes and crates five times her size.

She slowed her movements, almost to a stand still in an effort to hone in on another sense. She strained her ears in a futile effort to hear anything that even remotely sounded of the mechanics of human foot steps, breathing, even the beating of the heart. But all she heard was her own as she began to regret entering the building in the first place.

She closed her eyes unnecessarily, considering her surroundings were just as dark as the inside of her eyelids. Heaving a petite sigh, she turned and headed the direction she had come from. However, her cloak, heavy with rain water sewn into the fabric, stretched down past its normal frame. With one unintended movement, Raven had successfully tripped over the soaked burden and had fallen onto the frigid, slightly damp concrete floor straight on her back.

She growled loudly in frustration as she climbed to her feet, in so doing, hearing and feeling a nasty crack in her spine. She shove her cloak behind her in an angry manner and regained her composure. Refusing to the stumble or trip over anything else strewn haphazardly across the building. Stretching her arms out in front of her, she began a slow steady pace for the exit once more.

_Uh, this is so stupid. They invented electricity for a reason!_ She thought as she began to navigate herself more efficiently.

Raven thought she was in the clear, when suddenly, her outstretched palms hit a crate with a fine surface. She felt around the smooth crate, trying to find the edges, when she realized...this crate had contours.

Instantly she was dumbfounded, her expression a clear reflection of this. She pressed her fingertips harder into the object, determined to find its origins. When she was about ready to finally give up and move around the object, it suddenly expanded. Raven jerked her hands back. _What is this thing?!_

Regaining her composure, she reached out towards the mysterious object once again. As soon as she felt her fingers touch the flawless surface, she felt a cool grip on her wrists, and things began to fall into place. Jerking backwards once more, she realized that this object was no crate, but a human.

She heard a small chuckle erupt from the deafening silence. The voice, though sounding different than usual was still unmistakable.

"Why Raven, I never knew you wanted me that way." He replied, humor flowing though each syllable.

Though she knew it was him, Red-X, his velvety deep, seductive still caught her by surprise. She gasped and quickly wrenched her arms from his grasp. Expecting him to keep his soft hold on her, Raven stumbled backwards, a corner of a nearby crate jamming into her side. She sucked in a sharp breath as the pain radiated throughout her leg, but she recovered quickly, still shocked by his leniency.

Her eyes darted from side to side, trying to make out his figure. "X?" She called out, though she knew already that it was him.

"In the flesh." He responded back in a cocky tone.

She eyed the darkness in the exact spot where his voice resonated from. There was something different about it. It sounded clear, exposed, as if there was nothing modifying it. Though he had only spoken once, his voice made her weak in the knees, partly from finally hearing it in it's correct form.

Forgetting all her rehearsed goodbyes, she strode towards him, questions pulsing through her mind. All of them she expected to receive an answer.

"You sound different." She finally spoke, having said more of a statement than a question. But rather than answering her question with a spoken reply, Red-X softly gripped her hands.

_Okay, no gloves, that's different.But that still doesn't answer my... _However, all thoughts were forgotten as X slowly brought her hands upwards. Her freezing hands gently collided with something equally cold. She pressed her fingertips lightly over the smooth surface, exploring the contours of an unmasked face.

Raven froze instantly, her fingers rigid over his cheek bones. No mask?! But all thoughts were lost as her heart pounded, her whole body increasing in temperature.

In reality, she was touching the unmasked face of a most deadly foe. But for Raven, it was an otherworldly experience. Her stone cold heart very nearly exploded with excitement. She was no longer in control of her mind or body. All logic was completely thrown from her mind and something primal took hold as her fingers continued to journey his face.

She moved from his cheek bones, tantalizingly slow, over his temples, allowing her pointer and middle fingers to graze over his eyes, which fluttered gracefully shut in response. Brushing over his eyebrows, she felt the fine hairs prickle the pads of her fingertips, as she reached up onto her toes to caress his broad forehead. She felt the heat resonate from it as it soaked into her fingertips, traveling up the length of each arm and becoming lost within the heat surging through every inch of her own body.

She halted her movements, but only for a moment, as she felt the coarse stubble of hair that framed his face. She squinted in amusement, having found out the fact that it was spiked, similar to Robin's. Wincing internally for even making the connection, she knew that, just by being here, she was betraying not only Robin, but Beastboy, Cyborg, and Starfire as well.

But nothing could even attempt to break her focus of the man before her, whom, at the moment, she desired more than anything.

Her hands slowly began to fall downwards, tracing the distinct bridge and gently slopping tip of his nose. While allowing one hand to reluctantly fall back to her side, the other remained on his upper lip.

Raven closed her eyes as the once icy room began to get noticeable hotter, the air seemed muggy and it was hard for her to catch a breath.

She tried to temporarily free herself from the guilt of betraying her friends, by convincing herself that the internal portrait she was etching of Red-X by feeling his features was only for the benefit of later identifying him to the titans. But all the feelings of condemnation and self-loathing were instantly erased when her heart inflated, almost painfully. Her pulse was pounding in her ears and she exhaled raggedly, her head becoming hazy and her eyes drooped slightly from the tiredness the sudden surge of heat had provided.

An explosion echoed throughout the warehouse, the origins of it, not far from their current location. Neither one moved an inch, just as Robin had done for Raven during their rooftop chat. However, at this point and time Raven became increasingly frustrated that the Boy Wonder kept entering her thoughts. Though as shocking as it was for her to be angry as this fact, she was, nonetheless, which frustrated her even more.

Raven's hands had once again froze as she was trying to catch up to her bodies reaction. Red-X, noticing, and obviously thinking it was her embarrassing display of her powers, smiled encouragingly, as if he were unafraid, completely content with her momentary loss of control.

She felt his smile and her heart pounded even faster, instilling fear in Raven, that it would burst straight out of her chest. Yet, it remained in place as her breathing hitched and it actually took effort to fill her lungs with precious oxygen.

Making a bold move, she elegantly brushed her scorching fingertips over his soft lips, feeling every crevasse, every valley, and every mountain. She was surprised that despite her prodding, his lips never broke the smile that she was sure would leave her breathless, had they been in a lighted room.

She was almost sad when her journey had ended and her wandering hand rejoined the other at her sides. Though she was frustrated with the few remaining questions, which only lingered due to the fact that they were in complete and utter darkness.

_What color are his eyes? His hair? Is he tan? Pale?_ The pent up anger nearly made her ask the questions aloud. Though she held her tongue with some difficulty.

The once hot, muggy air, suddenly became cold once more, though Raven's body temperature and heart beat did not decrease. The atmosphere instantly became thick, tense, and full of awkwardness and confusion.

_What happens next?_ Raven thought as her mind drew a blank. Past experience of this constrained situation would've proven extremely useful, but, as usual, Raven had no sort of knowledge of anything as emotionally twisted as this. She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to think of something to break the silence, and wouldn't make her look like a total idiot, her pride could not take that.

Closing her eyes, thoughts of fleeing the scene jumped into her mind. But her plans stilled and ceased and her eyes snapped open in surprise as she felt a pair of cold, strong hands cup her face.

END OF CHAPTER 19!!

I feel evil doing this, just about as much as my non-updation (?) over the past few months. But hey I worked hard on this chapter, and I have to say that I am very pleased with the results..But does anyone think that my vocabulary is..shallow? like i repeat words over and over again throughout the chapter...I felt like I was using the words fingertips, she, and everyones names too much...what do you all think?

oh, and thanks for sticking with me, all of you! and to all of you new reviewers that unknowingly guilt tripped me into updating love ya!


	20. Kiss

hey I know this chapter is hella short, but work with me here...My ideas haven't been coming as easily lately.

Chapter 20: Kiss

_This is wrong! This is wrong!_ Her mind screamed to her heart, attempting to sway its decision of its unopposed concession. Her internal shrills, though lucid and unimpeded, conveyed no message and became scattered, hollow pronunciations as they vanished into nothingness. The situation seemed apt to Raven. After all, the emotion that had overtaken her physically and mentally, an emotion for so long unfelt had to have precedence over the wrongness that seemed so obvious, but she could think of no tautological way to sort it all out. Her mind, at some miniscule level was functioning and she was recalling her responsibilities to herself, and to her curse. Normally, an emotion close to escaping would be broken and beat down until it succumbed to the blood that ran so unintentionally cold through her veins. However, after years of inexpression, the particular emotion conveying itself had built up strength as it gathered dust and cobwebs of longing. It has desecrated her barrier and made a clean break, exploding all its rage of unmanifestation in those few moments. However, her curse was on her mind, a fact which she could easily forget, had it not vocalized itself in the physical world as well.

Her powers, by now, had made minced meat of the entire warehouse. However, Raven and Red-X paid no heed to the horrendous explosions echoing one after the other.

His hands were rough on her even skin, but they had a bizarre gentleness only felt to her as his own fingertips had begun a preternatural exploration of their own. Each movement, every touch of the smallest kind sent pulses of warmth rushing to her brain. Her face was scorching, and she was sure that he felt it as well. Her eyes shuddered closed and she tried her hardest not to smile, keep her composure even and unaffected by his fingers raptured embrace. Her breathing made the task impossible, however. It was erratic, incompliant with her minds jarringly repetitive orders to hush and silence itself. Her heart was also defiant, allowing itself to melt the solid ice and accept the forbidden feelings for X without question.

Every indentation of each finger was felt to her as his journey coursed over her cheeks. She compressed them ever so slightly, squinting through the sheer blackness. Though she could not make out any facial features beyond her own recent exploration, a fact most disappointing to her, she could make out two shadowed scoops of flesh where his eyes should be. Pushing into his hands she inched gently closer to him, trying not to startle the man, showing a most genuine weakness, and ruin the moment forever. Though not knowing why she wished to prolong this venture she peered once more onto the face of the man who had blatantly exposed himself, obscure to her reactions, on such a steep level. She could see now, that the eyes were sealed such, reveling in an emotion foreign to her. Could he have found the moment as pleasurable as Raven had found it? His deep breathing seemed to confirm this. It was slow, as if he was on cloud-nine, elongating the time as he ingrained it in his memory. It was then that she realized that he had not done this out of fun, or to follow suit. He had done it for him, all the vibes of cockiness she had received from him were merely a front. The man, when suited, had worn double guises, one physically and the other emotionally. And Raven had found it ecstatic that she was the coveted chosen one that was permitted to see the man unmasked in every way, even if she could not view his features fully.

She then allowed herself to persue the task she had forbade herself from doing, to feel what she had prohibited herself from feeling. A sincere smile graced her lips as Red-X journey came to an end. She was not sad, for she would rather have those few moments in ecstasy than to have never had them at all.

Unexpected to her, X was not quite finished. His scaly hands tenderly cupped her face as he brought his tantalizingly closer. She felt her eyes widen as she knew what was about to come. A kiss, her first kiss. Though her heart thudded in her chest and all thoughts ceased, she felt incandescent happiness, as she was about to experience a moment that she thought would never happen. She closed her eyes and licked her lips as X brought his face down. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, feeling laughter of bliss bubble in her throat. The air around her was perfect, though her body was numb and it was then that it happened, she felt his delicate, yet taut lips beginning to gently collide with hers, just the tips, but it was about to become whole.

Or it would've had the torrent of emotions not unfurled themselves and interfered. At the first touch she felt what she thought was a spark, a flare of passion. It had in fact been her troublesome -though the word barely warrants the complexity- powers wreaking havoc, now fully free from their bonds.

In one moment, the passion that had surrounded them morphed into aghast horror as their lips were wrenched apart and they were each flown, unwillingly, into opposite directions, victims of an unmitigated, puissant blast.

A crushing blow befell her battered body as she landed violently on the concrete, the coolness seeping into her skin and freezing her heart over once again. Wincing in pain she massaged her tender ribs, feeling a swell on the left side. However, the wound could easily be remedied with a spell within her thousands of volumes back at the tower. She rubbed the wetness from her eyes, smelling the pungent saltiness mixed within them. She struggled to rise and find her footing, blackness percolating through her senses. She fought the enemy of unconsciousness and triumphed as she swiveled her vision, looking for X. She followed the path just opposite she had landed, but what she found confused and disgruntled her. She found a crate, obviously shattered by the impact of a human body, but there was no one to be found. X had vanished leaving her with the unfathomable want to apologize for the havoc her curse had bestowed. Her first kiss had been an utter disaster.

END OF CHAPTER 20!!

See I told you it was short, but at least it didn't take me months to update!


	21. Dwelling

Hello everybody! Yes! I am updating! I told you I would! Anyways lets get down to the nitty-gritty. This chapter has made me change the rating to M due to **SUICIDAL CONTENT! **If you're offended in anyway I'm sorry, but I'm telling you this now, so don't say I didn't warn you! Now on with the show...

Chapter 21: Dwelling

For many hours Raven had sat in the warehouse, now the single occupant. Her cloak rested upon her folded legs as she harvested the thick crop of debris that had sewn itself into a series of frayed threads. Normally, she had no interest in participating in such a meaningless task, for she had an endless count of cloaks back at the tower. However, she had found that these small tasks required no emotional attachments and that she had a new found respect, and rather liked them. Her fingers were slightly splintered all the celestial warmth had long since been overtaken by the revolting coldness that had inhabited her body since birth.

Though each move she made ignited the burning wound on her left side, she welcomed the pain, knowing the reasons for doing so were just. The numbness, that she had often self inflicted, had created a will of its own and had dispersed itself in every way possible. Her mind, her thoughts, her senses. She could not feel the slightest tingle of life, not that she longed to. Her body temperature shrunk into shadows, the deadliness felt by few other living souls. Each breath she unwillingly took felt like a painful expanse in her lungs. It was intense, giving her the paranoia that her breathing would rip her tightening flesh from her chest, a feeling that seemed increasingly comforting to her. She would prefer it to drawing another nauseating inhalation.

Her eyes, once a vast ocean of intensity were shielded by an ominous cloud of sorrow. The brightness had died and the hue had turned a cold shade of gray. Anyone who would look upon this poor creature would feel the pain of each unbearable beat of her frigid heart.

She rose her head, parting the sea of violet hair. The early rising sun could barely be seen on the horizon, yet another reminder of the warmth and happiness that she would never feel.

Internally she was attacking herself. Picking each flaw in her character, whether physical or emotional, and letting her anger and hatred of herself ravage her mind.

_It's all my fault._

**Yes, yes it is all your fault. You saw this moment coming, yet you still chose to see him. You deserve what he did. He left you because of you, you know? He could never be with someone like you. You have too many problems, you have no control whatsoever and he doesn't want to waste his time with someone as pathetic as you.**

_...Yes, I am a waste of time._

**Yes. And what are you going to do about it?**

_Something that should've been done years ago._

Phasing through the water stained window, she landed soundlessly on her bed, crumpling the sheets and spraying them with the remains of the debris from her cloak.

It would appear that she was gazing, emotionless, at her intricately painted wall, but to Raven, it was as if her eyes were closed. She could see nothing but a blatant black sheet of darkness. She knew that random sounds echoed naturally throughout the tower, yet her hearing was muffled and it seemed like the sharp sound of a pin dropping could be heard, reverberating for hours. Each breath became slow, like it was difficult, and her head swam. And for the first time in a long time, a single tear beaded up in the corner of her right eye and spilled down onto her soft cheeks. She sniffled, not hearing the weak sound, and shut her eyes, letting another wall of darkness overtake her.

Her chin began to quiver, a result of the reflex, to will away any emotional flare, her body accustomed itself to. A few nerves still held strong throughout her struggle, and her stale fingers shriveled up, clutching the satin sheets in an unbreakable grip. Each transpired breath forced out a pitiful sob, even more painful due to the fact of her resistance.

_I know what must be done..._ The words echoed through the vacancy. The thought of letting go had frequently haunted her thoughts, even as a naive child, so naturally, the idea wasn't new to her. But could she really do what was simply unthinkable to most? Though she had been toying with the idea for some time she, honestly, didn't know if she possessed that amount of courage, super hero or not. But does bravery determine the capability, or is it desperation? That, she, and probably no one else knew the answer to. Only those lost who had committed the act could determine.

The more she thought about it, the deeper she fell within herself. The pain was less so, as anything remotely attached to the physical world faded away. However, a low pitched humming noise had rang out and had become so distracting that even Raven, whose spirit had nearly left her body, could no longer ignore.

Willing herself to return she blinked rapidly, thinking it would help the process. The darkness slowly lifted itself from her vision and her hearing cleared, amplifying the obnoxious hum.

Raven bolted from her bed, suddenly fully aware that red lights were flashing and a blaring tone played over the speakers.

Adjusting her cloak and pulling the hood ever her expressionless face, she exited her room hurriedly, not entirely sure how long the alarms had been going off.

Limbs numb and spirit dwindling she trudged down the hall into the main room, the cloud of darkness still playing around the edges of her vision. She could hear an eruption of speech, several feet from the door. Taking another painful breath she took one step forward, awakening the sensors that opened the doors. They rushed open, spilling the tension-filled air onto her face. She walked in, leaving her presence unknown, and observed the events unfolding.

"I don't know how these guys keep escaping! I need to head over to the cells afterwards and up their security measures." Cyborg gasped in annoyed disbelief.

A portrait of Plasmus hung on the screen of their giant monitor, his face twisted into unbound rage.

"He's near the mall, but he's moving fast," Replied Robin, reading the coordinates from the screen.

"Well let us go kick the butt!" Starfire exclaimed, the adrenaline clearly pumping through her veins.

"Yeah, let's go show this guy why he shouldn't mess with the Teen Titans!" replied Beastboy, changing into a bat and heading out the door behind Starfire. Cyborg soon followed, but not before swiping his keys to the T-car.

Raven turned awkwardly, semi-used to having her presence ignored. She walked to the door, not having the strength to levitate herself just yet.

"Raven?" Her eyes widened at the concerned tone her name was spoken with. She turned slowly, double-checking to see that her hood was steady atop her head.

It was Robin who had spoke her name, his eyes a sheer vessel of anxiousness. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, Why wouldn't it be?" She spoke, her voice sounding a little too rushed, yet it was still missing the musical tone of liveliness.

Robin hesitated for a moment, slightly angered at the fact that he could not view Raven's face for any emotion. "Well, it's just this morning I came to your room and I knocked and there was no answer." He waited patiently for a response, but Raven was a stone wall of silence. "I didn't take you as a heavy sleeper." He smiled, decided to pipe up at the last moment.

Raven, seeing her way out at the last statement thought fast, though her thoughts continued to weigh her down. "Yeah? Well I am." She replied a little to harshly, still her voice had no emotion.

"Hey you guys coming or what?" Cyborg yelled, his voice slowly fading away as he distanced himself from the pair.

Without another word, Raven turned away from Robin's hurt expression and ran through the door. As soon as she was in the hall she jumped into the air, activating her powers of levitation. Yet she was alarmed and dumbfounded when she felt her feet hit the floor again.

_What the...?_ Eyes widening in realization she knew the illness that had befallen her. Her powers, exhausted from the force and weight of each sudden emotion, transgressed from the black aura that was Raven.

"Cyborg!" She called out, surprised at how quickly the idea had come to her.

Cyborg, his titanic body crowding the hallway slowed to a jog. "Yeah?"

"Um, can I ride in the T-car with you?" She inquired, still embarrassed by her weakness.

Cyborg shot her a puzzled glance. "Yeah, sure, I guess."

Raven released a bulky breath that she had not known to be lingering in her lungs. They hopped into the T-car fluidly, knowing fully well that their other teammates were already half way to their destination.

Cyborg revved the engine and without a word, sped off, the heinous hip hop music pumping through the speakers.

They arrived shortly afterwards, surveying the scene and checking for weak spots around their enemy.

Cyborg ran, head first, into the action, sonic cannon blasting stunningly. Beastboy was dodging acidic sludge being spewed from the pungent mouth of Plasmus while Starfire hurled an industrial sized garbage trough into his side. Robin, cape waving wildly behind him, had thrown a series of disc bombs and was in the process of extending his bo staff into the gut of their foe.

Raven stood, protected by the T-car, unsure of how she should handle the situation. She had to try! Otherwise the whole team would find out, especially Robin, who seemed like the most important of the team, to her, at the moment.

_But what can I do? I'm just like a defenseless human! But...what's the point?_ Her momentarily forgotten depression crashing into her ferociously. _This could be the way...This is the way._

Striding near Plasmus she straightened her cloak, not fully understanding her purpose for doing so. Plasmus caught sight of her not soon afterwards and grinned mischieviously.

_This is it._ She thought, not feeling happy, not feeling anything. The numbness spread throughout her body, forcing her to halt her steps. It didn't matter, her sweet escape already had her in his views and was now winding up for a tremendous strike.

He opened his mouth, spitting a wave of toxic sludge at her. This was it. The end. A smile tugged at her lips as she saw the beautiful sight of her demise.

THE END OF CHAPTER 21!!

and no! It doesn't end there! God you would all hate me if it ended there right?! haha wow, anyways I know it was major depressing but the next chapter has some robin/raven...well you know what...till next time friends!!


	22. Savior

hello everyone! I hope that no one actually thought that Raven was going to actually die! I'm not that cruel, and I thought that I lad left a footnote, but meh, maybe my memories are eluding me! I was originally going to have this chapter be longer, but I wanted the signifigance of this moment to stand out and become it's own. Therefore, you'll be happy to know that I'll be updating sooner than usual!

Chapter 22: Savior

A mass amount of weight seemed to be pressing itself upon her entire body. Was this what it feels like? She released what she thought to be her final breath. The smile faded, however, when she realized she still had the capability to open her eyes to a world that she had not wanted to ever glimpse upon again. Death had not befallen her. It was quite the opposite.

An angel had saved her. The brilliant white flowed around its figure like a gentle, carressing blanket of light. "Raven." Its voice was muffled, but the beauty resonated perfectly.

"Raven." It called again, more urgently this time. Blinking to clear the dew from her eyes, she concentrated, somehow the radiant voice began to seem familiar to her.

Her vision cleared to produce, none other, than Robin, an anxious expression playing on his face. A small moan of recognition escaped her lips and she squeezed her eyes shut tight. A soft hand rested upon her face, tugging upwards, beckoning her eyes to emerge from their sallow burrows. The brightness bursted through the tiny slits as she tried to adjust. "I'm fine." She spoke, how she even managed to utter a word suprised her greatly. She began to recognize her surroundings and soon found the battle still in engagement. Robin towered over her, eyeing her with extreme caution.

"What happened?" She asked, more to herself than to Robin.

"You tell me. You just stood there, right when Plasmus was about to attack." He replied, helping her to a sitting position.

Suddenly all her thoughts came rushing back. Thoughts of her botched plans, thoughts of her failing abilities, everything. Tough as it was, she struggled to keep the confused look on her face from turning to surprise.

And then it came to her. Veiwing her surroundings, the battle that was assaulting her friends, she was astonished to finally see that being a Teen Titan filled her soul with raptured life. It was all she had ever wanted to be and she had just put her position into jeopardy. The trecherous snake-like voice that had reduced her to nothing, she found, had only been just that, a voice. She had control over her destiny, and right now, every thought of ending her life had vanished, simply by looking into the face of the angel who had saved her desired life.

"R-Robin..." She stuttered, wanting so deeply to tell him of the plight of her actions.

A ball of toxic acid sailed past her right side, interrupting her moment of truth.

"Hold that thought." Robin called as he stood up and launched himself at the enemy.

She eyed his retreating figure before taking in the rest of the team. She realized how much life was around her. Of course there were her friends and a few fleeing Jump City citizens, but there was more than that. Until now, the breeze dancing through the supple aspen leaves and the tiny plants that had forsaken the man-made strucures and grew despite their presense had gone unnoticed. The appearance of life was overwhelming, so much so that Raven's problems seemed insignificant. Was the cure for her apathy that simple? To focus on the enthusiatic life that endured all around her, and ignore, as best she could, the ever-present burdens that seemed so constant in her own? It would certainly prove to be to be a difficult task as much as it would transpire to be easier to keep her emotions imprisoned. But the task would not be easy, especially since her whole existance seemed to be based around negativity.

Watching as Beastboy dodged the gelatinous half-formed arm of Plasmus she began to approach the idea more heartily. _So what if I am to change the entire way I view my surroundings? What will come of it in the long run?_ For this, and of so many other of life's questions, she knew not that answer. But a fresh wave of determination swept over her. Being so close to death had opened her eyes and made her value her life, though dark and riddle with uncertainty it was.

All that she could see was herself and her highly cherished teammates. Her encumbered journey of life seemed less dilapidated suddenly, as though her whole mind was mending to the implicit adjustments that she had stringently rendered upon herself. Thoughts of Red-X fled her rehabilitated mind, along with all her yearnings for him.

A wave of brightness extended to the dark casms of her thoughts, and a sincere smile graced her lips. She rose awkwardly, thanks to her injury of her attempt at ending her life, and was blissfully unaware of the steel cable that was predestined straight for her head. Realizing at the last second, she instinctively flung her hands up, inconsequentially stopping the impending suffering.

"No!" She yelled, not thinking that the cable did not have ears or the power to comply with authority. Eyes shooting open, she found the cable to be mere inches from her face, surrounded in a murky black aura. internally her stomach did somersalts, ecstatic that her mutinous powers had recoiled back into their home. A sigh of pure bliss and elatedness escaped her as she glanced to her comrades, obviously needing their fifth member. With a deep breath to get her bearings together she leapt into action, her spirit containing a new burst of buoyancy.

END OF CHAPTER 22!!!

I feel a little bit better knowing that this wasn't as unbearable a cliffy as the last chapter. What did you all think?


	23. Okay

Hey guys, I'm really sorry about not updating for a while. I started school again…college is a lot of work, so yeah…I know this chapter isn't very long but it's the best I can do for now! Sorry!

Chapter 23: Okay

The glimmering sun had fallen half-way behind the endless sea. The waves, folding upon the shore so delicately were branded by the simmering sun, setting off an astonishingly pure, yet harsh reflection. This exalted beauty was ignored, however, as triumphant shouts of victory rang out.

"We sure kicked his butt!" Beastboy cried, then proceed to morph into a kangaroo and with elegance that seemed to exceed him, bounded up the jagged rocky shore into the T tower. The rest of the team followed, a glowing aura of victory surrounding them.

"Yes, we should now order the pizza!" Starfire replied her smile as beautifully elated as ever.

"I'm already on it!" Cyborg yelled from the kitchen as Starfire, Raven and Robin entered the tower.

Raven heaved a sigh. Although she wished to celebrate with her friends, she felt as though she needed a moment, a moment to just digest the blur of recent events. There was so much to think about. Now that the dark veil of lies and self-doubt had lifted she could see plainly for once, not being bound to the dark shadow of her past and seeing for the first time how deliciously bright her future could actually be. She found it odd to be thinking why she had even attempted to do what she did in the first place. Perhaps she had been thinking about it for years, unable to admit that somehow it had been her destiny all along. _That doesn't make any sense, my destiny is to not have a destiny? That's not right._ Perhaps it had only been a spur of the moment decision, one that, for the time being, had needed no thought, just execution. The evaluation of the recent incident was beginning to weigh her down, like every time she pondered her childhood, or lack thereof. Many times she had let the darkness overtake her, but this time it was different, she could now distinguish things more vividly than ever before. The decision to put the recent occasions out of her mind for the time being came almost immediately. Though she needed a minute, she had told Starfire the truth, she did genuinely want to celebrate with her friends. But she needed to concentrate first, to block out the memories to be able to enjoy herself somewhat. She tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but as invisible as she wanted to be at that moment, she did not have that much power, and regretted so when Starfire's deafening voice blared throughout the room.

"Raven, do you not wish to eat the pizza with us and play the games of the video?" She asked innocently, gathering the other's attention.

With all eyes pinned on her, she swallowed the hard lump in her throat. "N-no, I do," she stammered unsure why she was so nervous, "I just need a minute." As she turned her back to them their gazes resumed to where they had been previously…all but one that is.

The door to the roof flew open and a fresh wave of salty air stung her senses. The cool breeze mixed with the serenely radiant sun felt refreshing as she leaned against the unyielding steel railing, staring into the abyss.

"What happened back there?" A calm voice rang out from behind her that even she, having great focus of her surroundings, couldn't hear coming.

Raven took a deep breath, knowing that this moment would come. "It's nothing." She lied, knowing that it wouldn't end there.

"It seemed like something to me." He replied thoughtfully, coming up slowly beside her. From the corner of her eye she could see Robin's masked face also turned towards the sea. This fact comforted her somewhat, it seemed less like a confrontation and therefore she would be less likely to get defensive, mechanism that usually won her arguments but was completely unnecessary now for this non violent explanation.

"Really Robin, it's fine, everything's fine now." Raven replied, but she couldn't stop the unconvincing inflection resonating throughout the comment.

"If everything's fine then why won't you tell me? Why won't you let us in? Why won't you let me in?" He sent the barrage of questions a little harshly, but the meaningful tone was still there.

Her eyes began to tear slightly at the sincerity in his voice, something that she had rarely heard in her past. A vision of her mother flew through her mind, but she pushed it away, not wanting to bring back those agonizing memories. "You don't understand. It's too hard."

At these words he turned his body towards her unresponsive one. "Too hard? You have come from the darkest past anyone's ever seen, destined to do horrible things and yet here you are, saving an entire city every other week. What could be harder than what you're doing now?" He asked a slight twinge of urgency in his voice. Little did he know what she was actually doing behind his back, behind everyone's back.

Eyes still shut tight, Raven thought about getting it all off her conscience. Tell him about Red-X. All the times she had seen him, and maybe even how she secretly liked it. She didn't know how this was even possible, but her emotions could not be corrected. Though she did feel something for X, her feelings for Robin had grown stronger. Obviously so, he was around all the time, he wanted to talk to her, he was the only person in the whole team that could actually relate to her on such a close level. Then her brain caught up with her frivolous emotions. It was simply out of the question. Her friends would turn on her, justifiably, kick her out of the team. She wouldn't be able to bear the look of hurt and betrayal on Robin's face. The bond between them had become even stronger, even she could feel that. He believed in her and would continue to do so. But the guilt of her dirty secret spiked when she felt a warm hand overlap hers. Struggling not to look at him or her hand, she strained her eyes, staring hard out into the sun set. Her clasped hand became sensitive, soaking in every pulse of his blood. She almost leapt in surprise when his hand squeezed hers ever so slightly.

Robin, seeing that this was going nowhere, sighed audibly, disappointed in the fact that he had thought that she was actually going to reveal something about herself, a fantastic feat for any person. Rubbing his forehead he settled on a conclusion. "All right, you don't have to tell me. But at least let me know one thing…Are you going to be okay? You can talk to me about anything, I want you to talk to me. You know you can right?"

At this she smiled. It was small and frail, but it was something that he could enliven in her. "Yeah, I know Robin," she finally turned around and their eyes met, "and I'll be fine, really I will be." Robin returned her smile and then turned to leave lifting his hand from hers, a longing for it to be replaced swept over her immediately, but she would never act on the desire, not in a million years. Her gaze returned to the sea, the water and the sky had turned bloody with the fervent smoldering of the setting sun. A sight that would normally intrigue her so passionately and leave her outside until the blackness of night encompassed the landscape. Yet as she continued to stare at the momentous sight she was blind to it, as her hearing trumped all her senses and focused on the fading thump of Robin's feet. However, the aggregated silence of Robin's footsteps resulted in an instantaneous response. She turned around, the salty breeze catching her hair, and saw Robin looking at her intently.

"Are you coming?" He asked, his emotions revealing nothing of the unwillingness she bestowed upon him during the conversation

"Yeah…Yeah I'm coming." She replied taking one last look at the bloody sea.

END OF CHAPTER 23!

Ok yeah it was short, but hey I warned yeh!! Well anyways thanks for all the support that I'm still getting, I love you all!!!


	24. Drama

All right so I know that a lot of reviewers have been wanting a raven redx interaction badly, so this is the chapter for you my friends!

Also, I just wanted to ask everyone this…I was taking a shower and randomly thinking about teen titans in general…weird I know but just listen…Does anyone else think that how the characters are portrayed on tv is a little…shallow? I follow the comic book series as well so it may just be that. Like Raven for example, I mean in the episodes where she is the theme it's all dramatic and stuff. And then the next episode it's like the previous never happened. Like every show, besides the episodes that have more than one part, it's like the show starts like it did from the very 1st episode AND EVERY SINGLE EPISODE IS LIKE THAT!! Like the episodes after Birthmark and The Prophecy, it's like she's not even affected by her destiny anymore. And then all of a sudden they show The Prophecy and it's, oh we've been looking for information about Slade and the mark of Scath since Birthmark, gee thanks for clueing us in! I see it mainly with Raven but it's there for the other characters as well. Like Beastboy, after terra left the episode after it was like it never happened and he was fine. Or like with Robin and all the stuff with Slade from the first and second seasons. I know that the producers want to move onto the next character but still, am I the only one that thinks they should've put a little consistency in? Maybe make it seem more like a series and less like a bunch of random character themed episodes strung together to make a season. Not only that but since I'm an avid Raven fan I follow her character more closely and she always says that if she expresses emotion then it will manifest itself through her powers…but I see her expressing emotion all the time like in the episode Fear Itself, when Beastboy's trying to get her to admit she's scared she gives him a look and reminds him that she doesn't get scared…that seemed like anger to me. And in the beginning of The Prophecy it's pretty obvious that she's scared of Slade. Or how about at the end of Spellbound, when Raven hugged Beastboy, it seemed to me like a sorrow, but happy she has friends combo. The only explanation I have is that the emotion she's expressing isn't strong enough to manifest itself in her powers. Does anyone else look this deeply into the show or are just happy with it as an entertainment purpose? And I know that they already wrote all the episodes and there's no changing it, I just wanted to acknowledge it and see if someone else agreed with me. And yes, I do want some cheese with my whine haha!

Chapter 24: Drama

Darkness clung to every corner of her room. The only source of light was a cylindrical fire orange candle, the flame flickering every so slightly in the air. Raven sat crossed legged in mid-air with one of her ancient volumes in hand. She would've liked to say that she was learning of the great famine that had taken over her home dimension five thousand years ago, but such meaningless distractions were beyond her. Her deep violet eyes held the reflection of the ominous glow of the flame, not a blink could disturb the intensity of her stare.

Though her physical presence was unbreakable her mind was filled to the brim with pulsing thoughts. These thoughts were different, however. They contained an emotion so pure that her heart raced relentlessly. The emotion, though it was not quite love, had been a totally new experience, different from the anxiousness, fear, and uncertainty that had kept her up for many nights. She didn't understand how she could feel anything this strong for a single person. For the first time since she had lived in the tower she had the desire to be outside her room, actually she wanted desperately to leave.

Slowly she uncrossed her legs and lowered her slight frame to the lavender carpet. She brought the candle close to her lips and blew a swift breath of air, extinguishing the delicate flame and leaving the room in utter darkness. The smoke rose from the wick swirling elegantly upwards and washing over her face. The young sorceress placed the candle on a table sporting the demonic version of a pair of drama masks twisting onto a stone platform. Glancing at the graceful twirls she saw how the silhouette faded the deeper it went to the foundation, and in that darkness she saw the significance the monument had to her very life.

Stepping outside the sliding metal doors she gazed down each direction of the hallway, a force of habit she had gained back when she used to avoid the companionship of the other titans. The darkness hid the contrast from most of the corridor but her hearing was astute, a valuable sense, she had always thought, and picked up no sounds of life. As the light tapping of her own footsteps hollowly echoed down the hall she had concluded that if no other titans were awake, and she had a suspicion that they weren't, she would go for a walk around the beach near the edges of the city, where she had often admired the colossal view of the Titan's Tower.

She looked into each open room but found only the darkness to coldly greet her. Her suspicions were confirmed and she was off, phasing through the walls as to not trigger Cyborg's advanced alarm system.

Soaring through the salty air she felt the sea spray sprinkle her face and the frigid winds sweeping her cloak behind her, the hem nipping at her boots. Squinting through the mist she finally saw a strip of land and gently lowered herself down, her feet shifting the sand under her and half covering her boots. Leaving her hood mounted she glanced into the city, the blurred lights and the fading sounds of car horns hazing her senses.

She sat on the desolate beach for what seemed like hours with out disruption. The peaceful scene and the blissful silence made for a most superb way to distract herself from her thoughts. In fact, she was huddled in the spectacle so fully that she didn't even hear the slowly approaching footsteps, muffled slightly by the loose, soundless sand.

"Quite a sight isn't it?" The voice startled her and she jumped up and whirled around to its origins. Red-X. Not that she hadn't recognized the voice upon impact.

"What are you doing here?" Raven asked genuinely, for she did want to learn how he always managed to find her, especially when she was alone.

"I come here sometimes." He replied simply, shifting his shadowed figure. The moon overhead was blanketed in a thick cloud-like vapor and she could barely make out his frame, not that it would tell her anything about his character.

"Oh." Raven responded awkwardly, not knowing how else to reply. A tension-filled silence transgressed over the two and the void was filled by the steadily increasing abrasiveness of the waves with a storm approaching. Raven looked down at her feet as they toed the sand and then up to X and then down to the ground again. Her mind wasn't functioning; she honestly had no clue what to do. Should she attack? Tell him to go? Run to the tower and alert Robin? Or simply walk away? The logical choice was to attack and call the titans, but since when did Raven ever make logical choices when she was in X's presence? "What do you want?" She asked finally, her brain throwing out the speech before she could comprehend it. She was shocked as he said nothing, but instead approached her, moving elegantly through the darkness. Backing up, she felt her heart rate racing. _This is not good! This is not good!_ She thought as her feet became soaked with the tide splashing up periodically. As Red-X realized her reaction he stopped abruptly.

"What?" His computerized voice ringing with confusion.

Raven inhaled slowly and deeply, not knowing how she should handle the situation. She saw that, within the depths of her heart, beneath all the darkness and apathy was Robin. She knew it was truly him with which she would have some glimpse of a some what secure future. But why, when it seemed so irrational, did she want to stay with Red-X there at that beach instead of returning to the tower where Robin would be awaiting her return with a heart labeled for her. It was then that she had finally seen that things were not as easy as she had perceived them to be in her solitude, black and white was not an accurate comparison, and the line between good and evil was so wildly skewed that it didn't even resemble a line anymore. Though her life had never been easily distinguishable, she had always seen the darkness so clearly. She had seen the lucidity of the boundaries her powers would permit. But this, like she had acknowledged before, was completely different. She didn't know what to do, yet some small space in her mind shouted at her to reveal things, to not have to hide everything as was her way of life

"I can't do this anymore." She finally stated, but something in her voice sounded unsure of herself.

"Do what?" Though X knew exactly what she had meant.

"This. Being around you. I can't keep seeing you." She said with certain difficulty.

"But you want to?" X asked, though it was rather a statement than a question.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. Could she really confess to him the truth? Would her dignity allow the admittance that she did want to continue their meetings, scheduled or not? Or would her feelings for Robin trump the whole ploy and ruin everything she had begun with the both of them, for surely she would have to tell Robin about her underhanded betrayal. It was then that she made her decision. She would never tell Robin about any of this. He would never forgive her, it was something she felt strongly about, Red-X had become just as much of an obsession with him just as Slade had. He might even go as far as putting her in jail, 'a co-conspirator' he would claim. No, she would do everything in her power to prevent his knowledge of the events.

"Yes." She grimaced as she felt the duplicity slither down her throat and cling to her heart heavily.

"Then stay." He said, as if the decision could be made with such ease.

"But…" Her mind went blank, she could think of no excuse as to not be with him. Though she knew it was wrong, she felt the temptation swiftly overtake her willfulness.

"You want to stay so stay. Your team has nothing to do with this." But they did, they had everything to do with this. They were just as involved as she was. She was loyal to them, as were they to her. Could she really toy with their unbridled faithfulness like this? Then she thought back to Robin, how he had betrayed them all and joined Slade. They had all forgiven him for his wrongdoings, though the current circumstances were vastly differing, could there be hope for her and her friendship with the titans, most of all Robin? Could they forgive her just as they had forgiven Robin if they ever found out? Or could she conceal all of this deceit and pray that none of it would be exposed?

Her physical being was calling to her so loudly that she could no longer ignore it. She wanted so desperately to continue seeing Red-X and the urges had overtaken every part of her body and had made the decision for her. She would go with him and hope that it all remained a secret; it felt like it was her only option now.

"Let's go." She spoke finally, all of the hesitance was pushed from her mind. They walked towards the city, letting the storm clouds brew, tossing the tide violently. Little to their discretion did they see a patch of subtle moving darkness lagging behind them…following them.

END OF CHAPTER 24!!!

Please review!! I'd like to know if there are any of you left that still read this!!!


	25. Distinguish

Ok..wow I'm sooooo sorry that I haven't been updating at all!! I really don't mean to be mean to you all! My education is calling me hehe..and if this was high school I'd ignore it. College and my classes are something I care about (sorry to be so harsh) more than this. I'm not saying that I'm giving this up. It's my Thanksgiving Break so I'm going to make this a really good one, ok? I think I'll let you in a little more into Red-X's persona. Hopefully you aren't too mad at me and still can give me some love in the form of reviews?!!! Perhaps? ;p

Chapter 25: Distinguish

A cool wind flitted through the city, encouraging the countless wads of old crumpled newspapers to glide noiselessly along the cigarette littered street. The moon had become suffocated by the thick ominous clouds and the only lights came from the artificial bulbs scattered throughout the congestion of businesses. The callous waves breaking along the stretch of resilient beige dunes made for a peaceful lullaby for those that were blessed enough to hear it, yet it seemed so far into the night that not a single soul was awake to hum along with the rhythmic collisions. No one would even sense two clandestine voyagers ascending their way to the seclusion of the seemingly deserted forest just west of the city. Their adept footsteps seemed to have no foundation and the accuracy in their silent strides appeared to be an impossibly acquired and impossibly executable skill. They filtered in between the dense collection of pines covertly and their rapid presences were mere remnants of transient shadows lingering with the ceasing of the breeze, and vanishing as though they had been a sinister illusion with a powerful gust. As a towering cliff cut off their undesignated path the two shadows halted abruptly, with as much sound as a profuse fog descending over the trees dripping with the blackness of the night.

The young sorceress deeply inhaled the cool humid air, feeling the entrapments of the city fade with the cadenced melody of the sea. She felt simply blessed that her eyes could behold such a picturesque sight where no words could explain its beauty. The wind tousled her violet locks and they splayed out over her features, distorting the scenic meadow that lay just below a jagged overhang. With a swift jerk of her head the view became whole again. A natural smile graced her lips as her gaze swiveled over the eternally serrated stones, a spontaneous garden full of slumbering velvety blossoms, the lithe reeds scattered where ever they desired that without content gave into the breeze and swayed to its command. It was just too perfect. "What is this place?" she asked him in wonder.

A comforting breeze occupied the few moments of silence. Though she could not see his face, she knew he was breathing in the magnificent spectacle as well. "It's my place. My home," He replied in a voice that was vacant of the abrasive mechanical voice she had become accustomed to. Raven recovered from the shock quickly and drank in the deep lulling voice. She was finally one step closer to revealing his true identity and yet, she had no cravings of unmasking this man whom her friends, and at one time herself, had stated was the team's enemy. But she wasn't with her friends. The absence of them skewed her views and judgments intensely, yet she no longer fought these uncontrollable thoughts and feelings, she embraced them. For once in her troubled life, she had found someone that was like her in almost every way. The only difference was that Red-X wasn't afraid to express himself like she was. All these layers of suppressed memories and emotions, bound, gagged and beaten into submission until they became so pitifully numb and shattered that the ability to lock them away and forget was an effortless task that Raven had gotten so used to that it hardly ever phased her that she was slowly killing her heart. The routine meditations, the mind barriers, and the affect that she willed to remain flat, in the long run, they had all brought pain and suffering instead of relief. True the safety of others around her was her top priority, but how much did she have to suffer in order for others to feel what she had always longed to? It was becoming increasingly clear that the necessity to remain detached had poisoned her soul. It was dying, she was dying, yet she couldn't bring herself to endanger others for her own selfish wants. Lately, however, there had been the slightest glimmer of light and warmth. But who was the cause of this blessing? Robin or Red-X?

"I come to think here a lot," X had finally spoken and broken Ravens circular argument within herself. "I think a lot about you."

Raven bit her bottom lip and willed with every last ounce of strength she possessed to suppress the excess of emotions pulsing through her body. Closing her eyes tightly she breathed rhythmically, chanting her mantra in her head. "Oh," was all she could manage to say. _What am I supposed to say to that?!_ She was panicking slightly as awkwardness filled the void in between the two. She turned away from his form, encased in shadow, and glanced once again at the meadow below them. Though the beauty was so consuming, her eyes were vacant to absorb the black tainted colors of the surroundings. So many thoughts were racing through her mind, yet one reoccurring thought was so strong that she could not keep herself from asking it. "Who are you?" It seemed like a fair question. After all, he had told her that he thinks about her; shouldn't she know who she's thinking about as well?

He chuckled, causing his body to quiver. "I'm Red-X," he stated, though they both knew he was toying with her.

"You know what I mean. Why won't you tell me?" Raven said, with a gentleness she didn't know she possessed. She had every right to be angry with him, yet she wasn't.

"If you knew the things I've done, you wouldn't want to know who I am." He bowed his head low.

Raven blinked several times. The statement had clearly caught her off guard. Not only that, she was still getting used to his true voice, which was currently brimming with sorrow, a sorrow that had accompanied her voice as well for as long as she could remember. With as much compassion as her powers allowed her to muster, she turned back to Red-X, took his gloved hand and led him over to the edge of the cliff, the pebbles beneath their feet crunching with each step. He only showed the slightest amount of hesitance as Raven tried to guide him along. He surrendered without delay after a benign glance from Raven's captivating violent orbs. They both lowered their bodies towards the ground and sat side by side with their legs dangling off the edge. Raven released her grip on his hand and although she felt no warmth in them, she still longed for him to return to her grasp. Much to her dismay, he placed his palms flat on the ground, pushing his body a little farther off the edge to see just how far down the massive fungi clothed rock went.

Raven eyed him observantly, sensing his body language as that of someone extremely anxious and uncomfortable. "I've done horrible things and I'm destined to do unspeakable things. We've all done things we regret, X." She had no idea where her openness had come from, but as long as he would respond to it, it didn't matter. He heaved a sigh, trying to delay the conversation at all costs. "So tell me…Please?"

He sighed again. "What do you want to know?" his voice a mere whisper of surrender.

"I want to know you. Where did you come from? How did you get here?" She began with the basics, not wanting to overwhelm him.

"I was born away from here, far away." He seemed in a reminiscent trance.

"Ok." She replied._At least we're getting somewhere._

"If you're wondering how I became a thief, it's in my blood. My father taught me everything I know."

"And where is he now?"

"Out of my life." He replied roughly.

"What about your mother?" She tried to get off the subject of his father since he seemed unwilling to talk about him further.

"She never even existed in my life, I never met her." He said, his voice resonating with something far deeper than sorrow.

The hooting of an owl echoed not far off and Raven glanced out towards the meadow teeming with life below them. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm not. I don't really care either way." He spoke with an abrasive inflection, but there were prominent undertones of grief. "My family's not important to me, I live alone now and I never look back."

His conclusion seemed final, with no entry points for questions or clarifications. _His past sounds just as horrible as mine._

"I live not far away from here but you wouldn't be able to find it even if you tried." His tone was becoming harder and harder by the minute.

"Do you like stealing and always running? Do you like living like this?" she asked. It seemed ludicrous to her for anyone to actually like his lifestyle.

He looked at her for a moment. "It has its perks." Raven turned away to hide the redness that had suddenly filled her face, though unnecessarily since the cover of night had still been bestowed upon them. "Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. But there's nothing I can do about it."

She turned back to him and studied his masked face. "Why?"

"Why what?" He seemed to have calmed down a bit and asked with a gentle voice.

"Why can't you do anything about it?"

He turned away from her. "If you were in my position you would understand." Now he just appeared to have shut down completely.

"Well no one knows who you are, why can't you just take off the mask and be who you really are?" She decided to be bold and slowly reached up to his face to try and remove the cover.

He gripped her wrists and pushed them away without a second thought. "This is who I am."

"I don't believe that," she refuted gently.

"Believe what you want," he said harshly, turning his body so his back was towards her.

"I think you could change yourself, you're just afraid of people seeing who you really are." She claimed, making another audacious statement.

"Well what about you?!" He half shouted. "You're here with me when you know it's wrong, why don't you go tell Robin why we keep seeing each other?!"

"I…" She knew he had cornered her. "I can't."

"Why not? Why don't you show him who you really are and tell him what you really want?"

"I don't even know that," she whispered, turning her back to him and hugging her knees to her chest. There lingered a long silence occasionally filled with birds chirping or a frequent breeze piercing the slumbering forest. She would've reacted differently and perhaps been slightly less affected had he not involved Robin. For every time she thought of him it felt like a white hot blade piercing her heart. She could feel all the betrayal she had produced and it was so overwhelming that it made her want to stand up and leave and never see X again.

Suddenly, she felt his presence just behind her left shoulder. "Well when you find out let me know." His voice had phased out all the anger and fury and left only tenderness remaining, although Raven couldn't ignore the slight sound of disappointment.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling guilty and couldn't help but think that she was just toying around with both him and Robin.

"It's all right, decisions like these take time." He whispered back in her ear making her shiver.

She turned her body back towards him and found that he sat cross legged not two feet away from her. They stared at each other silently for what seemed like hours. As the breeze disheveled her tresses she squinted in an attempt to see behind his mask. It was impossible for certain, yet it didn't make her any less desperate and hopeful.

"So what makes you like him so much?" He finally spoke a hint of jealousy playing in his voice.

"Who?" She asked, though she knew exactly who he was referring to. She couldn't understand how it was so obvious to X that she liked Robin while her friends seemed blind to it.

"You know, Ro-…" A rustle in the bushes a few hundred yards away cut him off and captured both their attentions. Both Raven and Red-X rose from their sitting position simultaneously, glaring at the shrub. Another movement progressed and as Raven began to step forward a small black ball was thrown towards the two. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and before she could comprehend what was happening she was flying head first over the cliff. A tremendous explosion erupted above them, showering them with heaps of rough stones. She didn't know how she managed, but she regained her composure at nearly the last second and levitated herself, as well as Red-X as he clung firmly to her arms, away from the torrent of debris. Red-X released his grip and landed lithely on his feet on a soft bed of pink daffodils. Raven, still airborne, glanced up through the downpour to see their attacker.

"Professor Chang!" Raven grumbled as she spotted his familiar lab coat and villain-esque moustache.

He smiled a maniacal grin and waved. "Just trying out my new xenothium bombs! I've been trying to find some humans to test and you were at the right place at the right time!" He laughed and hurled another black sphere at her.

Raven flung out her arms and captured the bomb in her dark energy. As it blew up her power expanded with the blast, but the xenothium proved too powerful for her and she drew back her aura and was throw back to the ground from the explosion. As she flew to the ground her back suddenly and painfully collided with a massive boulder. The air passed from her lungs and as soon as she got the chance to inhale once again she groaned in agony. The pain was so intense that all she could manage to do is lay there trying to catch her breath. Every time she thought she could move her back would crack and produce a sharp sting in protest. Though all she could manage to do was lift her head she managed to twist and turn, searching fervently for X. _Did he leave me?!_

Another explosion sounded but this time it wasn't accompanied by a barrage of rocks hailing downward. Raven glanced up at the edge of the cliff to see Red-X fending off Professor Chang. He threw relentless punches and graceful kicks and although most of them missed their target, they prove good enough to push Chang back into the forest.

Professor Chang was obviously not the fighting type and he threw a volley of bombs before he fled into the forest, flailing his arms and laughing in delight. The lingering bombs all seemed to miss their target, except one. Raven saw it plunge over the cliff a few feet from her. Both her and X followed its path with their gaze and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Before Raven had a chance to move the bomb landed in the middle of a group of monumental pine trees. There was a moment of silence before everything in Raven's eyes changed. The bomb exploded, forcing the trees from their roots and thrusting them outward. As there was a moment of scorching heat a shower of dirt fell over Raven and then a pain that she had never felt so extreme fell upon her stomach. She closed her eyes and lay silently as the pain extended throughout her body.

"Raven!" She heard X's voice, but it seemed to come from somewhere far away. She suddenly felt coarse hands caress her face and brush off the clumps dirt. The confusion was so great that she finally opened her eyes. She saw a pale hand as it moved around her face. _X's glove must've come off during the fight. _She thought as she began to start. She tried to move her arms but they were pinned to her side by something heavy. She blinked through the blurs that filled her eyes and looked down. An entire tree trunk lay over her, smothering her waist and arms. She groaned loudly as she looked up. X's masked face came into few and she knew under it lay features violently worried and scared.

"I'm going to try to get this off you," he said, whispering in her ear and running his naked hand through her sullied hair. His face disappeared from her gaze and a moment later she felt a gut wrenching pain sear its way through her body. She threw her head from side to side and screamed as he struggled to remove the weight. "It's okay, you're going to be all right." She could hear him encouraging her through her cries.

Finally, after one last sharp pain, the weight was gone. Raven tried to inhale, but each time all she could accomplish was a fit of coughs. As the burning pain began to become numb she heard a familiar voice approaching. _Robin!_ She would recognize his voice anywhere. _Where's Red-X? _She turned her head and she saw a dark shadow running towards the shelter of the woods. The figure stopped and turned to take one last glimpse before retreating further into the shadows.

Raven groaned again as she turned her head to look up at the now clear starry sky. The stars, however, began to blur and the edges of her vision began to darken. Her hazy view once again became obstructed and she could make out a person above her with a mask, yet with each breath she took, her mind began to black out.

"Raven?!" She could hear a far off demanding voice.

"X?" She whispered and the darkness of unconsciousness fully consumed her.

END OF CHAPTER 25!!!

Ok what did you guys think?!! I think that if I have time I'll write a few more chapters this week and save them so I can update more regularly. I don't think I'll get any protests! ;p so please review guys, I know I haven't been the nicest person when it comes to updates…but your reviews will sure encourage me! Pwease?!


	26. Whispers

Thanks a lot guys! I really appreciate all the wonderful reviews! I've finally hit the 300 mark! I can't believe it! So kudos to all you awesome writers and readers out there! By the way **I've retired my old s/n Fatcat11388 and am from now on to be known as Lastrael Noir. **I've used Fatcat11388 since I've joined the site back in 2003 and I figure I'd lay it to rest. So if you're confused, that's why.

Chapter 26: Whispers

RAVEN'S POV:

I was lost in an infinite darkness, so suffocating, so silent. My body, writhing with swollen emptiness was charred and helpless as I left it behind. My beloved crimson vitality was burning, spilling thick liquid stains that would forever dwell in the endless chasm of my fading imprisoned consciousness. I couldn't be sure if I was truly entangled within this miasma of blackness. This obscurity was beyond the dark of night, beyond the unbound stretches of time itself. It was unnatural. I tried to open my eyes, and it was then that I realized I not only had no eyes, but no lips, no nose, no anything. I had left my entire body behind me.

A strange tunnel of colors suddenly burst forth, it was blindingly bright, yet I needed no shield. And as my body began to once again compose my blurred vision became defined into an appalling sight and I found myself wishing that I was once again without a body.

I was in a room, my room. Deep shadows painted themselves along the entirety, but I couldn't miss the two unmistakable figures sprawled out on the floor, helplessly. A step closer and I realized I knew the couple well. It was Robin and Red-X, dying. Their endless amounts of blood draining from the cessation of life, stretching farther and farther to every dark corner of my malicious room. Their breathing was labored, yet their veins retained enough life for them to reach out to me, whispering my name pitifully.

I was frozen. Robin, my friend, yet he had become so much more than that. He was calling for me, he was dying for me. How could I not run to him and sooth him during his last moments? How could I stand there and not know whether to reach out towards his open presence?

I was spellbound by my own retched emotions. My eyes shifted towards the other nearly motionless figure, Red-X. Although his face was covered I could still see his eyes pleading for me. His hand clutched his side, where the blood poured over, staining it in a sickening color. Which one should I go to?

I made a solitary step forward and, to my relief, the room, as well as Robin and Red-X, became a blur and suddenly I was left in utter darkness once again. But something was different this time. There was a sound, subtle at first, but it soon began to crescendo into a jarring tone that was so high pitched it clearly rang throughout all my senses. Then it began to even out into short bursts of sound.

The blackness began to brighten and it was so unbelievably intense that this time I did need my eyes to be shielded. But I couldn't, something was covering my hand.

* * *

A few fingers on Raven's right hand twitched slightly but not before her senses were filled with the overpowering whiteness that was the infirmary. Not quite having the strength to move yet, her vaguely blurry gaze fell over each section of the room. To the right, shiny steel cabinets and countertops were littered with open bottles and heaps of red stained gauze and bandages. She squinted at the mess in confusion, usually Cyborg kept this area firmly and eternally sanitized and clean. She turned her head to the left agitating the numbing headache she had and her gaze widened when she realized the restraint on her hand…was Robin.

He lay sleeping, his forehead resting on the edge of the infirmary bed in such a way that when he awoke, he was guaranteed to have aches in his neck and shoulders. His gloved hand lay over hers, clasping her fingers ever so slightly, and that's when it all came back to her;Red-X, the fight, everything. _But how long have I been sleeping?!_ She wondered, knowing that her healing capabilities would've cut the normal time in half.

Her stare was unwavering as she took in Robin's whole form. She had betrayed him. She had betrayed everyone, at least she thought so. What if they had seen her with X?! She wished with every fiber of her being that they had not seen him scamper into the woods after pulling the tree trunk off…and then it dawned on her. Red-X had saved her life. A heavy glaze pulled itself over her eyes as she fought to remember every detail, but the pain had been so constant at the time, that it had been hard to focus on anything else. As she blocked out her headache small flashbacks began to run through her mind. The explosion, the pain, his pale hands running through her violet tresses, and his frantic whispers and how it had somewhat numbed the agony.She heard it in his deep beautiful voice that would now be engrained in her memory forever. The authoritativeness that was so clear you could practically see the trademark smirk of a 'class A rebel,' and yet it had subtle, so subtle that it was possible that only she picked up on it, undertones of concern and distress that coursed through it, it was seductive. _He cares._ She realized and found it equally disturbing that she smiled and her heart rate jumped at the thought. Blinking a few times, she locked away her emotions and the normal flat affect was slapped upon her face and it was as if the slip up had never occurred.

"R-Raven?" she heard a familiar sleep filled whisper. The sudden break of silence made her ears tingle and a chill went through her spine at the sound of his voice. She turned her head and the pain she had tried to resist resurfaced ten-fold. She gasped and gripped her forehead a small moan of anguish escaping her dry throat.

"Hey, take it easy," his voice conveying the anxiety he tried to mask. "You've been out for a while." It appeared he regained his composure in his speech, yet the exhaustion he felt was written all over his face.

"How long?" she asked through gritted teeth. The pain was slowly dying away as she willed her power into it and she opened her eyes once more. After getting over the initial shock of the brightness of the room she found Robin closely, perhaps a little too close, leaning over her, his eyes scanning her entire body as if he was weighing up an enemy. She felt slightly unnerved by his gaze and repeated her question. "How long?"

He narrowed his eyes, giving her another once over and turned away from her. "A few days."

"Days," she repeated, trying to force the shock out of her voice. She peered at Robin who seemed to be deep in thought, pacing at the foot of her bed. Then he did the most unexpected thing…

He turned to her the exhaustion on his face replaced with anger. "Yeah, days," he said impatiently and then turned on his heel and stormed out of the room as if they had just gotten through yelling at each other. But they hadn't. She had remained utterly silent, confused and stunned by his odd behavior. What exactly had she done wrong? She continued to stare at the door as if it held the answers, but in turn she was greeted by the coldness of steel. Something was wrong and she didn't have the slightest clue what.

* * *

ROBIN'S POV

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to leave. Her eyes explained it all to me. She was entirely clueless as to what had happened. I grounded my teeth causing a slight pain in my jaw, but the anger trumped it. She had said _his_ name. I knocked over a decorative plant as I stomped down the hallway, hearing the pottery break and echo loudly. I had avoided the others somehow, luckily. I wouldn't be able to face their stares. They still questioned me relentlessly about why we were out in the woods. I wouldn't have been if _she_ hadn't! My breathing came out in ragged gasps and the anger boiled inside me. I strode down the endless maze of the tower; I wanted to find the training room. I _had_ to find the training room. I stepped into the room finally, glad to see it completely empty. I didn't bother wrapping my hands up in cloth as I angrily threw my gloves aside. I walked over to the punch bag dangling from the wall and went at with everything I had. A few tears broke along the sides, but I didn't care. It was either this or _him._ I gritted my teeth as I thought back to the incident:

I watched as she crept out of the tower, she had always done it, she needed her space and I understood that, but with all that had been going on, something wasn't right and I was going to find out why. She walked through the industrial side of the city as if she were searching for something. That's when I saw it…_him._ The darkness of his costume had given him stealth, but he suddenly appeared in a ray of florescent light. I stopped abruptly. Raven, she was _following_ him. I climbed a hefty stack of boxes, my prior years of ruthless training making it impossible for me to be seen. Then they veered off to the right, heading towards the forest. _What is she doing?!_ I thought, completely stumped. I breathed with the winds and slid in between the mass of shadows that covered the blackened grass.

They stopped near a cliff top and I stopped a few hundred feet away from them. They look like they were arguing at first, but then they sat down together… and _talked!_ Their voices were just murmurs and I desperately wanted to get closer, but I wouldn't compromise myself. So I strained my ears as best I could. I heard her ask who he was. _Huh! She was with this guy and she didn't even know who he was_! I blocked out the fact that the team also had never found out his identity, I didn't want to see all the hypocrisy in my logic. Their chatting seemed to go on forever and I had just about had enough. I was ready to jump out from amongst the trees and take her back to the tower, even if it was against her will, a thought that I couldn't and wouldn't even begin to process. But something had happened, they had argued it appeared. His hands gripped her wrists and I ground my teeth and glared at the sight, nearly losing it completely right there. _I'd love to break those hands of his, _I felt like his touch was poison to her. _How could she even be with him right now anyway?!_ His back was to her then, _just like a defiant child!_ I thought. By now my fingers were screaming for blood and I released my hands that had been curled into tight fists for the entirety of their little conversation. Before I knew it I could hear what they were saying, I looked on, he was yelling at her. I heard him say my name. _They were talking about me?!_ I was close to snapping, but I had to find out what this was about. I inhaled deeply and focused on Raven, _a girl I had feelings for, I thought I did._ I wasn't sure anymore. Raven seemed to break down after his rant; I could see her hugging her knees. _If he hurt her…_ I decided not to go down that path.

Then I heard a rustling in the trees about a hundred yards away from them. Raven and Red-X had heard it too and they were looking in the same direction curiously, just as I was. The next thing I saw was X pushing her and himself off the cliff, I sprang from my hiding place but was then thrown a few feet back into a rotted old pine tree courtesy a tremendous explosion. _Raven! _I wanted to cry out her name. I pushed the slight ache in my back aside and leapt to my feet, but my vision was stunted by the blinding dust that filled the clearing. I coughed and a few particles filled my throat. I couldn't see them anywhere! Then I saw the culprit, Dr. Chang! I swore under my breath and ran head on into the dust storm. I could vaguely make out two people fighting but quickly realized that neither had the slight frame that she had. _Raven! I have to find her!_ I saw Red-X jump off the cliff for the second time after a barrage of explosions sounded from below. I eyed Dr. Chang; he was advancing on the two. Although the prospect of my protecting Red-X sent a wave of fury through me, I still had to protect Raven, even if she had no clue what she had gotten herself into. I stepped into Dr. Chang's line of sight and began throwing relentless punches and kicks. It was good that he wasn't a 'hands on' villain and I left him unconscious, slumped against a tree a few moments later.

_RAVEN!_ I had shouted, no longer caring if Red-X found out about me or not. I wave of nausea hit me when I look upon the gruesome sight that awaited me. It was Raven. She was bruised, beaten, and bleeding. As the nausea passed I felt a deep pang of concern, concern that she might not make it. _It looked so bad!_ I surveyed the meadow below in full, a moving black shadow caught my eye, but I didn't even remotely care about hunting him down. I leaned over Raven, she was still awake, somehow, but I could see it wouldn't be for much longer. _Raven?!_I practically shouted, trying to keep her awake. Then she said it. It sent me completely over the edge, _X?_ She mumbled and her eyes closed and her head fell to the side. I stopped for a moment, only a moment. I couldn't believe what I was actually thinking. About leaving her there, leaving her there to die just because she had said his name and not mine. I immediately shoved the thought from my mind, it was crazy. She may have been with the enemy, but she wasn't _the_ enemy. She was still a titan, and I still cared about her, I still _loved_ her, though I could barely admit it to myself. I scooped her up in my arms and without another thought called the others on my communicator and ran towards the tower before it was too late.

_That's it._ I thought, sweat pouring down my face as I continued to beat the punching bag. I looked at my hands, they were undoubtedly bruised, even a few cuts had emerged, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get my hands on him, on Red-X.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 26!

Did you enjoy?! I REALLY liked right the Robin's POV part, agh it was fun! Anyways..I want another vote since things might've changed as the story has progressed..So (in the form of a review of course :P) who do you want Raven to end up with?


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